U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia !434

Text of Retirement Speech Naval Station, Norfolk, Virginia 30 August 1968 Today I complete 35 years of active commissioned service. For me they have been satisfying years --- I have had the privilege of command ashore, in the air, and at sea. Perhaps of these, the most rewarding was that of leading a squadron of young, eager, and magnificently capable young pilots in combat. It was my good fortune to participate in what may well be recorded as the most significant military operation in history --- the atomic bomb attack on Japan. At that time we thought, and it may well be borne out, that if we, the world, exercise wisdom, this weapon might well provide the influence that can keep major powers from fighting each other toward total destruction. It was my privilege to command one of the most powerful and important Naval forces in the world --- our Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. For after all, and in spite of our trials in Southeast Asia, it is in Europe, the Atlantic, and the Middle East where the major confrontation of power between east and west exists. Then, most importantly of all, my service in the Navy has provided me the privilege of working for, and with, some of the finest people I shall ever know. Today closes this particular chapter of our lives for Nan and me. Tomorrow opens another. We anticipate it with eagerness and enthusiasm for many reasons, not the least of which is, that except for the first step, we have no firm idea at the moment where it will lead us. Now I must express to the staff my appreciation for your help, your response and enthusiasm, and to pay tribute to your outstanding capabilities. You have made my almost a year and a half here one of the highlights of my career. Finally, Admiral Holmes, I cannot conclude without stating particularly to you how much I consider it a privilege to have worked for you, truly one of the great leaders of the United States Navy. U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia !435

These are my orders to inactive duty --- To: Vice Admiral Frederick L. Ashworth, U.S. Navy, Deputy CINCLANTFLT via CINCLANTFLT When relieved on 31 August you are detached from Duty as Deputy CINCLANTFLT and Chief of Staff to CINCLANTFLT; proceed to your home of selection. You will regard yourself relieved of all active duty effective at 2400 on date of detachment. Your request to be transferred to the retired list was approved by the Secretary of the Navy, effective 1 September 1968. On 1 September, you will be transferred to the retired list with grade of Vice Admiral. Signed: Charles K. Duncan, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Personnel. U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia !436

Admiral Ephrim Holmes, Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, pins on the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia !437 U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia !438 U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia !439 !440

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

RETIREMENT September 1968 - present (April 2001)

I was retired from the Navy on the first of September, 1968, at the age of 56, having completed more then 35 years of active commissioned service. As I have written, this was a precipitous decision. I didn’t need to retire. I probably could have served until the mandatory retirement age of 62. Who knows what that might have held for me had I elected to do so? Yes, who knows? Remember Secretary Nitze’s “little black book”? It wasn’t a difficult decision to make. Plainly stated, I had three stars and the rank of Vice Admiral. Circumstances were such that apparently the Navy did not see clear to promote me to Admiral with four stars. It had always been my philosophy that if I couldn’t go up, I should go out. We had not made any plans whatsoever as to retirement; where to live, or what to do. At the time it seemed as if that decision was to be made a long time forward. When we had some time off, around Christmas of 1967, we travelled to Vienna for a couple of weeks when we should have been thinking about our final plans for a place to live. But as usual, there was nothing lost by this. It was a fun trip and good to be back in Europe. Although Mom had never been to the Seattle area, she agreed with me that Seattle might be a good place to start looking. And look we did. We ended up buying the first house that we had found, on Mercer Island. It was small, in good shape and seemed to be just what we needed. I don’t recall that there was any shock from the transition from military life to that of a civilian. I joined a local country club, Sahalee, and, more fun, I bought myself a 1969 brand-new red Porsche 912 automobile. Took some golf lessons from Mr. Paul Runyon, the professional at Sahalee but they didn’t take too well, and we found that retirement was indeed fun, just as we had heard. Then the rainy season started. From June to September, Seattle is magnificent. Everything is green, flowers are in bloom, and you can see Mount Rainier almost every day. From then on until the next spring one can count on a little, or a lot, of rain nearly every day. We began to have fond memories of Santa Fe from our previous stay at Los Alamos during the war. Maybe we should go back and see if it was as we had remembered it, warm, dry, sunny, snow in the winter time, all the things that Seattle didn’t seem to have to offer. So we hooked up the Airstream and journeyed to Santa Fe. Santa Fe was about as we remembered. One day, shortly after we arrived, Mom was visiting old friends in town and I went out to “Nine Mile Road” to visit a friend from Navy Department days, Admiral Dick Mandelkorn. Before not much more than an hour later, I had toured with Dick a five-acre plot that seemed to provide an excellent building Retirement !441 After retirement, I attended, in San Diego, a class for training Convoy Commodores. In the event that convoys were ever to be required, we would be be would we required, be to ever were convoys that event In the Commodores. Convoy a class for training San Diego, in I attended, retirement, After asCommodores”. “Convoy commanda convoy of take assigned to Retirement !442

After retirement I was asked to do a study of Naval Research and Development Laboratories for the Navy Director of Navy Laboratories. Here I am visiting the Naval Aircraft Modification Station, Johnsville, PA. One of the results of my study was to change this to a weapons research and development laboratory. Retirement !443 Laboratory, White Oak, Maryland. White Laboratory, After retirement, this is a photo of the “Surface Warfare Advisory Committee” visit to the Naval Ordnance Ordnance Naval the to visit Committee” Advisory Warfare “Surface the of is a photo this retirement, After Retirement !444 site, met the owner, and made a deposit for the purchase of the land. I picked up Mom downtown and told her that I had just bought a lot in the south of Santa Fe. So, it was back to Seattle to put the house on the market and await a buyer. This didn’t take long. We packed up our things, and what wasn’t shipped professionally we loaded into a U-Haul trailer and headed for Santa Fe. I have forgotten now, but I guess that we had left the trailer in Santa Fe until we could make the move. How the Porsche got to Santa Fe also escapes my memory. It was fortunate that we had the Airstream, because we moved it on the property that we had bought and used it for our living quarters, all the while designing and working with a local contractor in building our new house. It was not an elaborate house, but we designed it to meet our needs, with a two-car garage and even a car port where we could park the trailer and connect it to the septic tank system for post-trip sanitary chores.

Perhaps I was a little hasty when I turned down those high- Santa Fe had a local public golf paying consultant jobs! With the Airstream in place at the course, not too far from our new construction site, I am hard at work burying the sewer and home, and I made quite good use of water lines to the trailer which was to be our home for several cold months. it. I stumbled into a foursome consisting of me, Jack Kenney, a retired Army Brigadier General, Dr. Bill Keller, a Ph.D. in cryogenics working at Los Alamos and David McNeil who owned most of the land north of Santa Fe acquired by his wife’s father, Governor Dempsey. Except for the fact that David McNeil didn’t seem to be able to count beyond six and insisted always to drive the cart and frequently left me to walk from green to tee, we had many a good game together. Jack never ceased telling me that he had no respect for the Marines. Once I asked him why. He told me that came from his experience in Korea during that war there. One day he stumbled into a Marine Corps command post and asked them if he could have a Retirement !445 cup of coffee. One of the Marine enlisted men just nodded to the coffee pot close by and said, “Help yourself, Colonel”. Apparently that is not the way an Army Colonel expects to be treated, even under combat conditions! Jack Kenney died after a short bout with cancer. Then a year or two later David McNeil passed on. Mom and I went to the wake to pay our respects, and were met by David’s eldest son. “Well”, he said, “I guess Jack is gathering his foursome.” As one might expect, having spent nearly five years in Europe, the urge to go back was irresistible. We decided to “just do it” and we took off for Paris. We had made arrangements to hire a Volkswagen “bug” there, and, remarkably, it was ready on arrival. The deal was that we would pick up the car in Paris and turn it over to the agency in Lisbon, Portugal, whenever we were ready to return home. We did just that 45 days later, having travelled in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal. We made it a leisurely journey, traveling mostly on the back roads and visiting the smaller towns rather then the major cities. We would stop on the side of the road for our lunches, usually a bottle of wine, cheese and good French bread. If we arrived in a town that looked interesting we would stop, take a hotel room, explore the area for a day or two and then move on. The fact that both Mom and I were pretty good at speaking French made such an itinerary feasible. After 45 days it was good to get home and resume the same retired routine. That sounds as if our retired life might be a bit boring. On the contrary, we both found that there was never enough time in the day to do all the things that we wanted to do. It was, and still is, hard to say just what it was, constructive, that was accomplished during the day. Well, its the little things. I have been steadily bombarded for autographs as a result of my atom bomb experience, and find myself answering questions, and describing my experiences, all of which takes two-way correspondence. Editing the oral history, the basis for this autobiography, required a lot of time. I did attempt a “book”, which was never completed, but which has helped in this preparation. One Sunday afternoon we invited one of our neighbors to come by and join us for a martini. During the course of the visit, I was asked that, if I wasn’t too busy, could I help her organize a volunteer fire department that was badly needed to protect that part of town where we lived south of Santa Fe. I agreed that I probably would have time to do it and would be glad to do so. She asked me to come by her house in a day or two, and she would show me what she had already done in getting the organizing started. When I did call on her, she presented me with two letters, both from the State Fire Marshal, which described what was required to organize a volunteer fire department. At that point she handed me the letters and said that she appreciated my help and that she would help me in whatever way I might need. Clearly, I was on my own. All that was needed to get started, when approved by the Fire Marshal, was the accumulation of a $10,000 worth of equipment which needed only to be such things as some rope, an axe or two, some shovels and most important, a roster of bona fide Retirement !446 volunteers. We had commitments for most of the stuff and a list of local residents who were willing to join the project as volunteer firemen, both male and female. After a lot of discussion among the volunteers, we named the new department “The Hondo Volunteer Fire Department”. Needless to say, I was elected to be the first Chief. I thought that if we ever intended to be a real fire department we needed to have more than the stuff that we had earmarked. We needed a fire engine. It wasn’t long before we found a used fire truck advertised in the Albuquerque newspaper for sale, price $1,250. We had no money in the treasury at this time, so I went to the First National Bank in Santa Fe, and arranged to borrow $1,250. We bought the truck and brought it to Santa Fe. Obviously we had no place to store it, but we were offered space in a large horse barn in Arroyo Hondo, nearby. This uneducated move got us into a bit of trouble because the Fire Marshal came down on me because we had not followed the state purchasing laws and procedures requiring advertising for bids and the like. We had a legal advisor who was also the legal advisor for the State Police, and his advice was to forget it, it would all pass over, which it did. By this time we had sent most of our volunteers to Las Cruces for training at the State-run fire protection school. Now we were in business with our new, old fire truck. I recall that during one early winter cold spell we were called to assist the Santa Fe Fire Department fight a fire in their district of responsibility. When we arrived with our equipment ready for work, we found that the truck pumping equipment was frozen solid. There was no heat in the horse barn. From then on the Hondo Volunteer Fire Department was known as “The Popsicle Fire Department”. However, in any event, we were organized, had a fire truck of sorts, and it was time to expand. I located a piece of property in our area of jurisdiction that belonged to a major real estate company in Albuquerque. I approached the owner, who happened to be the State Lieutenant Governor, with the idea that he might donate to us the piece of property where we could build a fire station, with the proviso that if the land was ever not to be used for a fire station the land would revert to the original owner. We arranged to obtain a grant of Federal money in the amount of $20,000 with which we would build our fire station using the volunteers to provide the labor. As a result of an article in the Santa Fe New Mexican about our struggles as a rising fire department, one of our members learned from relatives living in Long Island, New York, that their local volunteer fire department, well established from being in existence from the 1700s, threw away more than enough fire protection clothing every year to meet our needs for a long time. All we needed to do was to ask for it. Further, they had a used fire truck pumper that they would be willing to sell to us. They first talked about a price of $99.00, but their Board of County Commissioners wouldn’t let it go for less than $999.00 provided that we send a driver to drive it back to Santa Fe. I found in the store yard of the local National Guard Armory a couple of Army 4x4 trucks. Two should provide enough parts to make one operational truck. There also were some Retirement !447 large aluminum tanks which could be mounted on the one good truck. So we had a water tanker to add to our equipment, quite a necessary item because fire hydrants had not been installed in the rural areas south of town.

Now we had an approved fire department, two pumpers and a tanker, a station to put them in and about 20 volunteers trained in the State fire school. All together it represented perhaps $250,000 worth of land and equipment. To top it off, the new fire station was named after me, “The Admiral Ashworth Fire Station.” I took on the job of writing the by-laws for the department. Among others things, I wrote that the retirement age for the fire fighters would be 65. It wasn’t just coincidental that I was just about to reach that age, and I retired from the department. It has been gratifying to watch the department grow to three fire stations with fire trucks for each, a tanker, a rescue crew of trained and qualified Emergency Medical Technicians and a rescue truck. One of our best truck drivers who managed the square- cut transmission gears in our oldest pumper better than most of the men, has since been trained for and is qualified as a Registered Nurse. All in all it was a great experience. New Mexico and the Southwest was a grand place to have a Porsche, and we took maximum advantage of it as we toured the area. It wasn’t long before there were about 90,000 miles on the odometer. It was about then that I learned from a Porsche automobile publication that it was not a matter of if, but when, after about 90,000 miles, the engine crank shaft would break from fatigue failure. It had been my custom, when in the open country, to drive the car at about 95 miles per hour for hours on end. That is what Porsches are made for. But the warning about crankshaft failure convinced me that I should have it done, or try myself, to install a new crankshaft in the engine to avoid that disaster. The big two-car garage that we had built on our new home in Santa Fe should be just right as a shop for the purpose. I decided to give it a try. It took about three months of study of an overhaul manual to give me enough courage to start the overhaul of the engine. I bought some metric measuring instruments to check bearing clearances and the like, and the metric tools that I would need. I decided, while I was at it, I should go the whole way and give the engine a complete overhaul; new pistons and connecting rods, new cylinders, new valves, a new oil pump, Retirement !448 carburetors and about every moving part that I could identify and get replacements for. I built a dolly out of two by fours, on casters, which would fit under the car after I had hoisted the rear end as high as I could and had disconnected all control cables and the engine retaining nuts and bolts. This was possible because the Porsche was a rear-engine drive car. Hopefully the engine would rest on the dolly and be clear to roll out from under the chassis. I had purchased a fixture that I mounted on the bench on which the engine would be mounted so that I could have all the access to it I needed. Then from a catalog I ordered all the new parts that I would need. I had decided that I would do the best job that I could, and part of that would be to see that all the moving parts were in good dynamic balance. I found a shop in Albuquerque that was equipped to do that work. I gave them the new crankshaft and the connecting rods to test for balance. Some adjustment had to be made to the connecting rods, and the crankshaft, surprisingly, checked out perfectly. I was ready to start the overhaul. Everything started to go together nicely until I tried to install the crankshaft. I found that the supplier had sent me a shaft for a 356 Porsche and not one for my 912 engine, and one of the main bearing journals would not fit properly into the crankcase of my engine. The shaft had to go back to the supplier for exchange. When the new one came, of course I checked to see that it would fit properly. By this time I was getting a bit impatient, and since the first crankshaft checked out to be in perfect balance I decided that I could chance it that the new one would also be in balance. So from there the reassembly progressed with out any problems and the engine was ready to re-install into the car and be tested. The installation of the engine into the chassis turned out to be as easy as the removal, and the great day came to take the car out for a test run. Everything operated very nicely except that at fairly high engine speeds I thought that I detected what appeared to be a minor dynamic vibration in the engine. After all the trouble that I had gone through to balance all the parts to avoid just such a thing I believed that maybe I should have checked the new shaft for balance as I had done for the first. It was a tough decision to make, but I decided that having gone this far for perfection I should have the new shaft checked. This required completely disassembling the engine to remove the shaft to send to the balancing shop. Not surprisingly, the shaft showed, under test, to be in perfect balance. The vibration, if there really was one, must have come from somewhere else. I have no idea of the number of man hours of labor this all required, but what difference did it make, I was retired! Nine Mile Road was about nine miles from downtown Santa Fe. While it had been a good place for us to live at the time, as we were growing older, we thought that it was about time to move closer in to the center of town where we might be able to find housing. We made one false move by buying property on the north side of town which, for one reason or another, turned out to be a mistake. Then we found a new development Retirement !449 going up on the road to the ski area, about a mile from downtown. We made our down payment for purchase and watched it being built, from afar. Of course, we had to sell the place in the country first. As it frequently does when you least expect it or even not want it to, the first person who looked at our home on Nine Mile Road bought it and wanted it immediately. So there we were, about to be moved out and with nowhere to go since our new home was not yet finished, and going very slowly. We were lucky to find a small apartment north of downtown that we could live in during the interim, with most of our things placed in temporary storage. It was about this time that I was beginning to have rhythm problems with my heartbeat. The New Mexico Heart Institute in Albuquerque was my point of contact in attempting to diagnose exactly what was going on. I had been prescribed some medication and told to come back in a month and be checked as to its effect on my problem. That would have been a Monday, a month later. That Sunday night, before my appointment to report on the medication effects, I experienced some pain in my chest and some tingling pain in my left arm. It was late, but I awoke Mom and told her that we had better get to the local hospital emergency room. There they put me on oxygen and took an electro-cardiogram. I was told that if the results of that test resembled what they might have on file in my record, then I could go home. At about 2:30 in the morning I was released from the emergency room. That morning we went to the Heart Institute for my long scheduled appointment. I reported to the cardiologist about the effects of the medication on the rhythm problem, which were nil, and then told the doctor about the incident of chest pain the night before. I was immediately given an angiogram which revealed heart artery blockage in three arteries, one as much as 75% blocked. The others blocked about 25%. With that I was admitted to Presbyterian Hospital and scheduled for triple heart by-pass surgery. Recovery from the surgery went about as advertised and, in accordance with the cardiologist’s instructions, I started a walking program. It was no problem walking a mile or so, which I did, on a regular basis daily. Finally our new house in the development known as “Twelve Hundred East” was completed, and we were able to move in. This was located about a half mile up the ski basin road, which made it ideal for my rehabilitation walking program. If I were to walk to the top of the hill, about to the “Ten Thousand Waves” Japanese “hotsi bath” spa, and return, I would have completed five and a half miles. All told, I walked a total of about 2,500 miles in this program, just what was needed to get my heart back in good operation. It has often been said that when couples retire after a long and active life, the marriage suffers from lack of outside interest and action, and the real basis for the marriage is severely tested. It probably is the case that if this occurs, the partners may have forgotten their vows “to love and to hold until---”. Retirement !450 Family photo taken in front of our new home in “Twelve Hundred East”. The occasion was our 50th wedding anniversary, June 1985. June anniversary, was ourwedding East”. The occasion 50th Hundred “Twelve ourhome in of new front in taken photo Family and Rick. me, Nan, Steve, Dave, Right: to Left Retirement !451

I don’t know whether or not this explains the fact that I found that Mom and I were slowly drifting apart. Somehow it seemed that we had let love fall by the wayside. Perhaps love had never really been infused into our lives together in the first place. I readily admit that I was never sure what love is all about. Surely there was little enough in my family as my brothers and I were growing up. Not that there was no love there; it was just one of those things that you never made evident; it was just not necessary. There was good evidence that Mom’s extended family was missing much that should have been binding them together rather than driving them apart. For whatever reason, I decided that our marriage was close to ending and that we both were unhappy the way things were. We were granted an uncontested divorce on March 2, 1990. I am sure that Mom was shocked when it came to her, full circle, that this was happening. We had gained many friends during our life in Santa Fe, even though, unfortunately, Mom had a way of alienating some of our friends, not any one especially, but when, for some reason known only to her, it just happened. I had seen it while we were active in the Navy, and more often than not, those who were “given the treatment” were some who admired and liked her the most. I have no explanation for it, that’s just the way it was. Among our many friends that we had known for 20 years or more in Santa Fe, were Dr. Don and Ercie Bell. I admired Ercie, and I realize now that I had loved her in my own way, from a distance, for most of this time. Then, suddenly, in January 1982, Don passed away as a result of a major heart ailment. For reasons that should be clear, Mom refused to make a courtesy call on Ercie so that we could extend to her our sympathy in the loss of her husband. Several weeks passed, and I decided to do what we should have done before. I visited her to tell her that I was sorry about her loss. When I left, I asked Ercie if I could see her again. Ercie and I were married on May 15, 1990 in Prescott, Arizona in the Methodist church where Judy and Murray, Ercie’s daughter and husband attended. I was delighted that all three of you stood with me for that ceremony. It was from that time, when I shared my life with Ercie, I learned for the first time what it was like to love and to be loved. Ercie taught me that love between two people is nurtured and grows as that love is shared. Without sharing, and a knowledge that the love is indeed being shared, love dies. She taught me that you do that with three simple words that must never be neglected and that come from the heart, “I love you”. Our life together has been a joy for both of us, and we have been happy. That is not to say that there have never been occasions where misunderstandings have reared their heads, mostly misunderstandings that I have caused. Sometimes, not surprisingly, I was not as good a learner as I might have been. After all, much of the way we lived our life together was a new experience for me. But I am learning. Hopefully, I am learning too, that there is a need for that love to show and thrive in my relations with you boys. Retirement !452

I also have learned from Ercie that one’s happiness will also thrive when you get outside of yourself, so to speak, and join the w o r l d a n d t h e p e o p l e a r o u n d you. We find that more than just our personal friends, the waiters and w a i t r e s s e s i n places where we try to go to eat as The Otero House we occupied in Santa Fe. f r e q u e n t l y a s possible, and the bank tellers and clerks in stores become friends as well, of a different sort, of course, but still friends. We need that personal relationship with that world outside our own small world. Most important of all, I think, for the stability of our lives together, I have tried to share Ercie’s deep and uncomplicated belief and faith in God and to make witness to that belief myself as we attend church together regularly and live the life that this entails. After Ercie and I were married we moved in together in the home that she and her husband had rented some years earlier. It was a genuine Santa Fe adobe home in a compound with nine other buildings. Our home as well as the others, had been designed and the construction supervised by the wife of a past Territorial Governor of New Mexico. Miguel Otero. She was Katherine Stinson of the Stinson aircraft family. They had met when she was in Santa Fe under treatment for tuberculosis. She became acquainted with an adobe home architect and became so engrossed in the art that she took on the design and construction of all the homes in the compound. We lived in the home that had been occupied by Governor Otero. As Santa Fe grew from a small town of some 9,000 or 10,000 to around 90,000 people, with all that goes with that growth, we felt the need to find more peaceful surroundings. Santa Fe was originally laid out for ox-cart and wagon travel and those trails had become the main arteries of traffic in the modern Santa Fe. Automobile traffic became unbearable and, as it happens with most growing cities these days, crime abounded. We had been renting our home in the compound, and when the current landlord raised the rent with periodic raises to come, we decided that it would not be to Retirement !453

Lincoln, New Mexico Post Office cancelation stamp. At right: Lincoln Post Office (town center)

Middle photo: Main Street, Lincoln, New Mexico Above: Here we are in the front of our Lincoln home. Looks, on the outside, much as Billy the Kid might remember it. The inside was extensively remodeled to suit our lifestyle. Above right: The back of the house with the second house behind. This second house was used as a guest house, my office, and the garage. Retirement !454 our advantage economically to stay there. In1994, we closed out everything in Santa Fe and moved to the small village of Lincoln, in southern New Mexico. After renting for a couple of years, we found some desirable property to purchase in town and spent the next seven months remodeling the house and garage i n t o i t s p r e s e n t condition. It is just right for us. These are happy times. 1995 photo taken at the First Presbyterian Church, We haven’t Ruidosa, NM. forgotten that there is more to life than just being happy together. We have found that we share the fun of travel. Europe is our favorite destination. We have visited Rome and the Italian country side. We shared one Christmas Eve at mass in the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. A trip to Russia, visiting Moscow and Saint Petersburg was an especially worthwhile journey. And, we have found that with a few trips into Death Valley, that has become our favorite destination here. Ercie has maintained her good health during these years together, with only the usual small ailments of Cholesterol and some blood pressure variations. My life has not been quite so trouble free. It goes with the territory, age, I presume. For the past few years, as I have read the obituary news in the Naval Academy Alumni Association magazine, Shipmate, I began to notice more and more casualties from ruptured abdominal aneurisms. This bothered me, for as long as I was able to remember, I had noticed the existence of a “lump” in my abdomen which seemed to be getting larger, and it was a perfect place to feel the pulse of the heart beat. It was identified by the cardiologist as an aortic aneurism. We had this measured by ultrasound for several years and noted that it was growing larger. Finally, when it measured about six and a half centimeters it was deemed time to have it repaired before it might rupture with catastrophic results. The surgery didn’t turn out to be child’s play exactly, but the operation was successful. The post-surgery recovery wasn’t going too well when I became anemic, which totally sapped what strength I had left. Some iron pills and B-12 vitamin shots quickly pulled me out of Retirement !455

Many years ago, when I sold my Porsche, I bought my first Honda and have not yet switched. Here we are having just purchased our latest Honda, a 1998 Accord, Tudor, V-6. that situation and my recovery went fast after that. During this abdominal surgery the contents get rather rude treatment as things are put back where they belong. It was from this, apparently, that, a couple of years later, I experienced a blockage of the small intestine. There were adhesions and overlaps that were causing the trouble. After tests to determine why and just where the blockage was, surgery was indicated, and 17 days later I was released from the hospital. This recovery has gone well and I have to report that I have rarely felt better than I do right now. Our stay here in Lincoln has been enjoyable and worthwhile. However as time went by we found that places where we could enjoy eating out, which we tried to do as often as possible, began to dry up. “The Silver Dollar” in Tinnie changed hands. “Mom’s” small eating place in Capitan where we could find wholesome home-cooked like meals closed. “Mom” just got tired. The Inn of the Mountain Gods close to Ruidoso was still there, and we thought that it was the best “deal” around, and even if it was a 40 mile drive to get there it was our favorite place to go. Then the “Burrito Express”, our source of Mexican fare, priced themselves out of business and it folded. Each trip by automobile was never shorter than 35 miles or so. Retirement !456

Rick, Dave, and Steve honored me with the purchase of a commemorative brick which is placed at the front door of the Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science & Technology in Richland, Washington. It was in Richland at the Hanford Atomic Energy Commission site that the Plutonium was made for the Nagasaki bomb. Here I am with Rick having been shown the brick for the first time. The brick is engraved as follows: FL ASHWORTH, USN FAT MAN 8/9/45

Our small, about-one-acre lot that we had brought up to our standards of landscaping, seemed to get larger and more onerous to keep the weeds cut down and the lawns mowed. And as the years piled up we began to feel that we had become slaves to the place. You boys kept telling us “find a young Mexican” who can help, but strangely, even here in Southeast New Mexico it seems that no one wants to work like that. Yes, we want to work, “but not that hard.” When we moved to Lincoln we maintained our medical and dental services in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, so at least each quarter it was 180 miles to Albuquerque or a couple of hundred to Santa Fe for medical and dental checks. On the plus side we now had a significant capital asset in our paid-up home. One day we were asked if our home might be on the market. “No, it is not”, was the answer, but the query stirred up our thought processes. Maybe it should be. Now might be the time to leave this country location and get back to civilization, but where to go? There seemed to be only one place that made sense for us to go, back to Santa Fe. Retirement !457

We still had friends there, we were familiar with the town, our medical and dental services were close by and yes, there were any number of restaurants available from which to choose each day. All we would need would be to find a place close enough to the center of activity for us to be able to walk there. So our home here in Lincoln went “on the market”, and Our new home in Santa Fe the search in Santa Fe began, ably assisted by an old friend whom we had known earlier. As is our customary habit, nearly the first place that we looked at turned out to be just what we wanted. Less that a half mile from the center of town, almost new, a unit in a ten-unit condominium. Ah, no more lawn work, no more long trips to the eating places, a secure place in a convenient location. We closed on the place on the 20th of September, this year (2000). And now here we are still in Lincoln waiting for someone to come along who wants to live here and decides that ours is exactly what they need. We know that it will probably be some time for this to happen so we keep things picked up and await the realtor with a hot prospect in tow. We have no problem with leaving the condominium in Santa Fe vacant. It has been vacant for some time now and is in an enclosed area with its nine sisters. It is known as the “Diez Senoras de Santa Fe.” So, our life together goes on for us happily and with meaning for both of us. Now, Rick, I think that you are going to have to write the last paragraph of this my story of my life in the United States Navy and my life for these many years since . Retirement !458

OK Ercie, let’s go raise some hell!

(Dave, the family biker, gave this photo to me and I just couldn’t help myself…...guess the “editor” can do things such as this…..Rick !459

THE FINAL CHAPTER

Frederick Lincoln Ashworth January 24, 1912 - December 3, 2005

The last sentence in Chapter 28 reads: “Now, Rick, I think that you are going to have to write the last paragraph of this my story of my life in the United States Navy and my life for these many years since”. For three years after Dad’s passing, I struggled to write this last chapter and each time I was not satisfied. Then, exactly three years to the day of his passing, these words came to me. Rick December 3, 2008

In the fall of 2005, Dad strangely began to lose his voice; words coming only with a forced exhale of breath. For a person of his vitality and need to continue to communicate with the world, this was something not to be taken lightly. A series of many tests and false leads finally located the problem: his old nemesis: the aortic artery. Years ago he had an abdominal aortic aneurysm repaired, and now it was the thoracic aorta that had grown dangerously large and was somehow applying pressure on his vocal chords. An aortic aneurysm is a ticking time bomb; it can go at any time, anywhere, and go very fast. Yes, he was wanting his voice back, but most of all his concern was the possibility of causing harm to an innocent bystander that pushed him to act. His age made surgery very risky, but he chose to go ahead. The repair to the aorta was successful, but post-surgical complications (Dave and I think negligence) developed, and he was unable to recover. A very difficult death followed on December 3, 2005. In his will, Dad expressed the desire to be buried at the Naval Academy; this did not come to pass. His and Ercie’s estate was controlled by a living trust which relegated the will to insignificant details. Through a series of events that need not be remembered, Steve, Dave and I lost control in the decision-making. The wish for burial at the Naval Academy was not heard. On December 8, 2005 Dad was buried with full military honors at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. An Air Force Honor Guard fired the last salute as he was attended to by eight Navy sailors and a Navy Chaplain who performed a short and very Navy ceremony punctuated by the The Final Chapter !460

playing of the Navy Hymn. Ercie has retreated into a world of her own and is living in a superb Alzheimer’s unit in Santa Fe where she is receiving the best possible care just as Dad would have wanted. Santa Fe National Cemetery Some philosophers tell us, when we dare to Section 5, Grave 331E think we make a lasting impression in the world, to put our hand into a bucket of water and watch what happens when we withdraw that hand. Well, from where I sit, the bucket I see just might surprise these philosophers. !461

APPENDIX A

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - APPENDIX February 24, 1966

Vice Adm. F.L. Ashworth Is Acclaimed as an adventurous and distinctive. It is a story Example for American Youth which makes fascinating reading even in the ______today’s make-believe world of James Bond, the Man From U.N.C.L.E., and the Batman. B u t F r e d e r i c k A s h w o r t h ’ s EXTENSION OF REMARKS accomplishments are fact not fiction. And of they set a pattern of old-fashioned virtues, HON. WILLIAM H. BATES such as loyalty, bravery, and patriotism, OF MASSACHUSETTS which are too frequently overlooked or IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ignored by 20th century youngsters. In high school, as president of the Thursday, February 24, 1966 student council, he began to set the high standards which carried him through life. He Mr. BATES. Mr. Speaker, almost coincident graduated from the Naval Academy in 1933 with his 54th birthday last month, at the age of 21 and as a junior officer served announcement was made that Vice Adm. aboard a battleship, but soon transferred to Frederick Lincoln Ashworth had been named Pensacola for flight training. commander of the U.S. Navy’s mighty 6th On December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, he Fleet. This event lead the Beverly Times, of was attached to the Bureau of Ordinance in Beverly, Mass., to acclaim this naval leader’s Washington. A few months later orders came service to our country as an example which through for transfer to an advanced carrier today’s American youth well might follow. In training group and finally in 1942 he took the hope that it may inspire others, therefore, command of his own aerial torpedo I am pleased to present the editorial from the squadron. Operating out of Henderson Field on Beverly Times of February 1, 1966, as Guadalcanal, he won his first decoration - the follows: Distinguished Flying Cross. His job was a dirty one. It took leadership and old- A Real Hero fashioned guts. Daylight raids on Japanese It is always an honor to a community shipping in the Solomon Islands. Bombing when one of its sons or daughters achieves missions against enemy positions and unusual distinction. Such is the case with always the dangers of hostile fighter aircraft. Beverly and Frederick Lincoln Ashworth, For canny planning in helping direct recently named a vice admiral and given several key amphibious operations the command of the U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet, Bronze Star was next. mainstay of our defense in the Mediterranean Then came a turning point in his life. and Middle East. He was assigned to a supersecret mission in Admiral Ashworth whose mother lives Santa Fe, N. Mex., with the unromantic title in Wenham, which, incidently, he also lists as of ‘Project Y.” In reality it was the his home address, was born in Beverly on development and perfection of the atomic January 24, 1912. His career has been bomb. Appendix A !462

Admiral Ashworth helped supervise and coordinate field tests of the bomb, and then on August 9, 1945, he flew with the Army B-29 bomber which dropped the second atomic weapon on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. For this he was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Silver Star. Back to the United States after the war, he helped in the basic planning of the Bikini atom bomb test and the first stages of the underwater delivery of nuclear weapons. In the last 15 years, top commands: the giant aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt, commandant of midshipmen at the Naval Academy, carrier divisions, Deputy Chief of Staff, European Command, and finally, Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet. You can have your television and movie stars. Such is the stuff of real heroes. !463

APPENDIX B Wenham Historical Association and Museum, Inc. Wenham, Massachusetts

IN APPRECIATION OF MINNIE E. ASHWORTH April 7, 1881 - March 23, 1970

WHEREAS the Wenham Historical Association and Museum has suffered a great loss in the death of a charter member, officer, trustee, and long- time friend, Minnie E. Ashworth, it seems fitting that the Board of Trustees express its deep sorrow on this occasion. Mrs. Ashworth’s long and useful life, lived actively to the end, has had great impact on all who knew and worked with her.

From her earliest years in Wenham, Mrs. Ashworth identified herself with all that was worthwhile and forward looking in the town. She was a member of the School Committee and for many years an officer of the Wenham Village Improvement Society. But her field of greatest interest was the Wenham Historical Association. She was a member of the small “Historical Committee” and assisted Mrs. Adeline P. Cole in the publication of the early town records and other books of historical value.

When the Historical Committee became incorporated as the Wenham Association and Museum, Mrs. Ashworth, a charter member, became a board member and officer. Her field of interest expanded and included chairmanship of the Historical Research Committee. She spent many hours in work of high quality, tracing early ownership of Wenham properties and in compiling - as just one example - the list of Wenham soldiers in the American Revolutionary Army, this in anticipation of the national independence celebration in 1976.

In addition, Mrs. Ashworth was a loyal and dedicated member of the museum hostess group, knowledgeable in every aspect of the Claflin- Richards House and museum. She knew and enjoyed showing the doll collection and was at her best with the many groups of children and young people who came to visit us. Her gift to the museum of an unique collection of wooden embroidery stamping blocks from her mother’s shop in Lowell formed the nucleus around which the exhibit “Fancy Goods” was planned for last fall. This replica of the little shop of 1870 proved to be one of our most popular exhibits and gave great pleasure both to Mrs. Ashworth and to the many visitors who came to see it.

VOTED unanimously at a meeting of the Board of Trustees on Tuesday, April 7, 1970, that these words of appreciation of Minnie E. Ashworth be included in our records and that copies be sent to the members of her family. !464

APPENDIX C

Address made by Vice Admiral Frederick L. Ashworth, U.S. Navy (ret) on the occasion of the dedication of a B-29 aircraft, “THE DUKE OF ALBUQUERQUE” acquired by the Atomic Museum, Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico. (1993).

Thirty-five years ago I stood on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the New York Naval Shipyard, speaking to the assembled crew of the ship as I turned over command to another Captain. The ship was moored to a pier in the industrial area of the shipyard, being prepared for its routine overhaul following an extended deployment in the Mediterranean with the United States Sixth Fleet.

Roosevelt was a live ship. You could tell from the hum of the blowers and the myriad of sounds that emanate from a live ship.

Standing before me were more than three thousand proud and dedicated officers and men of her crew who had carried her through her successful operations in the Mediterranean under my command.

Moored to an adjacent pier was the aircraft carrier Enterprise, one of the most highly decorated carriers from the war in the Pacific. But she was a dead ship, resting in the glory of her days gone by. There were none of her crew on board. The only life one could detect was that of the Yard workmen as they proceeded to dismantle this proud old ship. Her island structure was being removed for shipment to some location unknown to me, where it would stand indefinitely as an inspiration to the thousands of visitors who would thrill to her well documented history of service in World War II.

As I stand here today, seeing and hearing modern jet powered military and commercial aircraft leaving and arriving at this military air base and this commercial air port, I can not help but recall that day on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Roosevelt.

Here, all around us flows the life blood of modern jet age aviation. And here before us a proud aircraft of days gone by. She will never again have on board a pilot, or a navigator, or a bombardier, nor the rest of her flight crew. She will never fly again.

One might say that like the Enterprise she too is a dead instrument of warfare. But as we dedicate this B-29 Super-Fortress as an exhibit at this National Atomic Museum, she, like the U.S.S. Enterprise, will continue to live on as an inspiration for the thousands who will see her, and relive the glory days of her sisters as they carried the war to Japan and the successful conclusion of World War II. Appendix C !465

Let us review just a bit of her history.

The B-29 Super Fortress, the successor to the venerable B-17, the Flying Fortress, was the ultimate in heavy bombers. At the time of its appearance in service at the end of 1943, it represented three years of intense development work. The Boeing Aircraft Company had already projected some very long range bombers back in the 1930s, and one prototype, with a 5,000 mile range, the XB-15, had actually been built. Further development led to a project in which Boeing was asked, in 1940, to develop a bomber capable of carrying a 2,000 pound bomb load for more than five thousand miles, with a speed of four hundred miles per hour.

The aircraft was ordered straight into production, late in 1941, without going through the usual prototype stage of development. Colonel Paul Tibbets, who later commanded the 509th Bombardment Group that carried out the atom bomb attacks against Japan, did most of the test pilot work for the new aircraft. He was a superb bomber pilot.

Four, twenty-two hundred horse power Wright R-3350, super-charged radial engines, gave the new aircraft a top speed of 358 miles per hour.

For high altitude operations the aircraft was fully pressurized, in two sections, front and rear, joined by a sealed tunnel passing above the bomb bay. The plane could easily reach altitudes of over thirty thousand feet.

Remotely controlled gun turrets, covering all arcs of fire, were provided for defense against enemy attacking fighters.

As the war progressed, combat experience led to the use of larger bombs, and the bomb carrying capacity of the aircraft was increased to a total of 20,000 pounds, a capability which would serve her well when it came time for the atomic bomb operations. It was the only bomber in our inventory that would be able to do that job.

This was the Boeing B-29, Super Fortress.

Super Fortresses were deployed in the Pacific area at bases in India, China and later in the Mariannas for operations against the Japanese homeland. Through 1944 and 1945, the B-29s hammered Japanese targets mercilessly. Raids on Tokyo with incendiary bombs burned out sixteen square miles of that vulnerable city. Few other cities were spared the devastation wrought by these magnificent aircraft.

Then, the B-29 was instrumental in the sudden end of the war. The ultimate weapon, the atomic bomb, had been developed by the United States and on August sixth, 1945, a B-29 named ENOLA GAY dropped on the city of Hiroshima, the first A-Bomb ever used in warfare. A second B-29, BOCKSCAR, three days later, dropped the last A-bomb ever used in warfare, on the city of Appendix C !466

Nagasaki.

When the full horror of this type of aerial attack struck home, the Japanese sued for peace, and the second World War was over.

I was a member of the crew of BOCKSCAR. I was aboard in accordance with an order from General Norstad, the Chief of Staff of the Twentieth Air Force, in command of all B-29s. He directed that an officer specialist would be on board the bomb carrying aircraft , who would have the final judgment should technical or tactical decisions be required in the event of deviations from the operational plans. I believe that General Groves, the Commander of the Manhattan Project wrote this directive because he insisted that there be aboard these aircraft a crew member familiar with the technical characteristics and the tactical limitations of the bombs --- one who could make these crucial decisions should they be required.

Navy Captain Parsons, who had important technical responsibilities at Los Alamos, performed these duties as a member of the crew of ENOLA GAY. We were known as “Weaponeers”

As the Operations Officer of the Los Alamos technical group deployed to the island of Tinian, from where the 509th Bomb Group operated, I was not closely associated with the men from the 509th. I had my own responsibilities and they mostly involved matters of a technical nature and relations with General Groves’s headquarters in Washington. But there was one member of the crew of BOCKSCAR that I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about, and what he did to make the Nagasaki attack the success that it was. He was Captain Kermit Beahan, the bombardier in the crew of BOCKSCAR.

Unfortunately Captain Beahan died before his time, some years later.

Beahan was a young and handsome officer. He sported a well groomed “Douglas Fairbanks” kind of mustache. You might call him suave. He was also a superb Bombardier, a veteran of many bombing missions over Europe while a with the Eighth Air Force. He must have been good because he was known among his contemporaries as “The Great Artiste”. He was the bombardier in Major Sweeney’s crew, and they loved him so that the crew named Sweeney’s B-29 after him, the “GREAT ARTISTE”.

This is a story that has never been told about this unsung hero of the Nagasaki mission. Let me set the scene for you.

We had spent almost an hour attempting to attack our primary target, Kokura, an industrial town on the island of Honshu and close to the city of Yawata. It was an excellent target for an atom bomb because there was located in the center of town the largest manufacturing arsenal in Japan.

Try as we might we found that it was impossible for Captain Beahan to see the aiming point through the telescope of his Mark XV Norden bomb sight. Smoke and haze from an earlier Appendix C !467 attack on the city of Yawata was the cause. We had strict orders from Washington that these atom attacks were to be made only using the visual bomb sight. After three separate bombing approaches from different directions were of no avail, Major Sweeney, the pilot, and I, made the decision that we must proceed to our secondary target, Nagasaki.

One city spared. One city soon to be destroyed.

For reasons that are not important here, we had earlier loitered for about forty-five minutes at our rendezvous waiting for our accompanying B-29s to join. Adding this time to the time over the primary target it now became evident that we were nearly in a crisis situation from fuel expenditure. Could we attack Nagasaki and return to our base? Could we only reach the nearest friendly air field on Okinawa?

The Flight Engineer had calculated our flying time with the fuel remaining and had serious doubts about reaching Okinawa. And he knew that we could not reach our base on Tinian island.

To add to the crisis, the weather over Nagasaki had deteriorated, and it appeared that we would not be able to see the target because of clouds below.. It was decision time.

I served once during World War II with an Admiral who told me that his motto was, “Fortune Favors The Bold.” Now it was my time to adopt that motto.

In spite of our orders to attack only with the Norden bomb sight, I ordered that the approach be made on radar and that, if necessary, the bomb be dropped using the electronic bomb director. Hopefully there might be clearer skies when we neared the target and Captain Beahan could take control and release the bomb with his bomb sight.

So...., one half of the efforts of the entire Manhattan Project, about a billion dollars worth, fell on the shoulders of a young Army Air Force Captain. He knew that he had only one chance for success should that chance be offered to him. The bombing approach continued.

Seconds seemed like hours. Then Beahan cried out over the plane’s inter communication system, “I have control.” Not more than twenty seconds later the bomb was released, the aircraft turned hard to the right in a diving turn and we retreated from the point of the bomb detonation. We must be as far away as possible to avoid the shock waves from the bomb blast.

The rest is history.

But, before we leave this story, I would like to state to you the coolness, the skill and expertise, and just plain guts demonstrated by this fine officer that day, probably could not have been duplicated by many, if any, bombardiers in the Army Air Forces.

On December twelfth, 1984, then Major Beahan wrote, “A note from: Kermit K, Beahan.” Appendix C !468 entitled, “Thoughts Concerning the Nagasaki Bomb Missions.” It is too long to quote all of it, but let me read to you some of the parts that are pertinent.

“August 9, 1945 is a day which I shall never forget, for it was the date on which I flew aboard the B-29 aircraft, “BOCKSCAR”, as the bombardier on the second atomic bomb mission during World War II.”

“We proceeded to take a direct course to the secondary target, Nagasaki, Japan. En route it was determined that only enough fuel remained for only one bomb run.”

“We proceeded on the bomb run under radar control until about 20 to 30 seconds from bomb release, when I saw a hole developing in the clouds over the target area. I took control of the bomb run and selected an aiming point in the industrial valley of Nagasaki. Fortunately the radar team had made an excellent bomb approach, and in the very brief time remaining I was able to synchronize the cross hairs of the bomb sight on the target and released the bomb with “good” results being achieved. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from our shoulders since we did succeed in following our orders, “Visual drop only!”. Fuel was now critical and we made a bee-line to our emergency landing on Okinawa. We had enough fuel left for one landing attempt. We landed OK and as we taxied up to the air field ramp both outboard engines sputtered to a stop --- fuel starvation. It was really a “sweat job”. After we finally returned to Tinian after being debriefed did I realize that it was my 27th birthday. We celebrate into the night.” Signed Kermit K. Beahan.

There is not much more to be said except that these sister ships of the B-29 now going on display here at this museum not only brought the war to an end but also were importantly responsible for keeping global peace for close to half a century. It was the start of the national policy which came to be known as M-A-D, Mutually Assured Destruction. “You attempt to destroy me --- I’ll destroy you.” Perhaps not a popular policy, but no one seemed to be able to enunciate a better one, and it survived for more than forty years of peace during the Cold War.

So, Super Fortress, B-29, serial number 45-21748, “THE DUKE OF ALBUQUERQUE” join your sisters here on display with BOCKSCAR at Wright Field, and ENOLA GAY, soon to be restored, at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

You are not as bright and shining, and even not as huge as your brother, the B-52, standing over yonder, but you can stand just as tall with pride --- you, and all your sisters, have earned, in a very special way, a place in history, a way that we all hope will never be needed again. !469

APPENDIX D

The following is the text of a secret report written by Dr. Norman F. Ramsey1 to the Director of the Los Alamos Laboratory of the activities of Project ALBERTA. It has since been declassified. Project A or Project ALBERTA was the code name for the Los Alamos (referred to in the text as Site or Project Y) scientists and engineers who were sent to Tinian to perform the bomb assembly and test operations. The quite rare photos which have been inserted into the text are courtesy of Mr. Robert Krauss, a collector of World War II memorabilia.

The most important significance of this Appendix is that it illustrates very clearly the time pressure that not only the people on Tinian, but also those at the laboratory were working under to bring these bombs to fruition and use against the enemy. As for the Fat Man attack against Nagasaki, note that it was only seventeen days from the time that the Plutonium device was tested successfully at “Trinity” that it was used operationally against an enemy. This may well be the shortest time between development and combat use of any major weapon in the history of armament.

HISTORY OF PROJECT A

BY N. F. RAMSEY

Chapter I INTRODUCTION

The history of Project A is essentially the history of the combat use of the ATOMIC BOMB and of the preparation and planning to make this use possible. Project A was responsible for the unification and direction of all activities concerned with the use of a nuclear explosion as a bomb to be delivered to the enemy as opposed to the experimental static firing of such a nuclear explosion on a test site. This responsibility included responsibility for design and procurement of components which were required to convert a nuclear explosion into a combat bomb, coordination with Air Forces activities including the modification of suitable aircraft, supervision of field tests on bombs without active material, planning and establishment of the necessary advance base where the final bombs would be assembled, assembly of active bombs and loading into aircraft, supervision of all tests and actions pertaining to the bomb while aboard the aircraft but prior to release, etc.. Many of these responsibilities were shared with other groups and divisions at Project Y, but the basic responsibility for unifying all these activities was

1See Chapter 11, Manhattan Project for more information on Dr. Ramsey. Appendix D !470 that of Project A. Project A as such was not established until March of 1945. However, the activities later the responsibility of Project A were started long before this time in a different organizational form but with many of the same men in responsible positions. During this earlier period most of what were later defined as Project A problems were known as delivery problems, i.e. problems concerned with the successful delivery of an atomic bomb against the enemy. For this reason a history of Project A should begin with a history of the delivery program at Project Y prior to the establishment of Project A.

Chapter II HISTORY OF DELIVERY PROGRAM PRIOR TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PROJECT A

Prior to the establishment of Project A the delivery program was primarily the responsibility of Captain W. S. Parsons, USN, who headed the Ordnance Division at Project Y and N. F. Ramsey in charge of the Delivery Group. These responsibilities were, however, completely shared with Commander Francis Birch who headed the Gun Group, K. T. Bainbridge who up until the establishment of Project A was responsible for the design of the implosion model, R. B. Brode in charge of the Fusing Group, and George Galloway who headed the Engineering Group. The first major activities of any kind concerned with the delivery program began in June of 1943 when Ramsey at Parsons’ request surveyed the Air Forces aircraft to determine appropriate sizes, shapes and weights of bombs which could be carried in aircraft. At that time only the gun method of assembly was under consideration and it was thought that a 3000 ft/sec gun would be required to make possible the gun assembly of Pu239 so the gun would be 17 feet long. It was apparent as a result of this survey that the only United States aircraft in which such a bomb could be conveniently internally carried was the B-29 and even that plane would require considerable modification so that the bomb could extend into both the front and rear bomb bays by being close under the main wing spar. Except for the British Lancaster, all other aircraft would require such a bomb to be carried externally unless the aircraft were very drastically rebuilt. On 13 August 1943 the first drop tests of a prototype of an atomic bomb were made at the Dahlgren Naval Proving Ground, Virginia to determine stability in flight. These tests were on a 14/23 scale model of the bomb shape which was then thought might be suitable for a gun assembly. The model consisted essentially of a long length of 14'’ pipe welded into the middle of a split standard 500 pound bomb. It was officially known at Dahlgren as the “Sewer Pipe Bomb”. For security reasons, Ramsey, who was in charge of these tests, presented himself as a representative of the National Bureau of Standards, Section T and much of the construction work on the model was conducted at the Applied Physics Laboratory at Silver Springs, Maryland. The first test on an atomic bomb model at Dahlgren was an ominous and spectacular failure. The bomb in a flat spin the like of which had rarely been seen before. However, in subsequent tests an increase in fin area and a forward movement of the c.g. provided stability. Appendix D !471

In the months following August further tests of the 14/23 scale models of current and ever-changing gun models were made at Dahlgren. Changes resulting from these tests were in turn incorporated into the design. Also during this time preliminary models of a proximity fuse which were constructed at the University of Michigan at Brode’s request became available. These were extensively tested at Dahlgren beginning on 3 December 1943. In September of 1943 the fast implosion model was proposed by von Neumann as an alternative to the slow implosion formerly advocated by Seth Neddermeyer. As it became clear that this model was a promising one, preliminary planning for converting it into a bomb were begun. A preliminary estimate of 59 inches diameter and of a nine thousand pound weight was made by von Neumann and Ramsey and on this basis the Bureau of Standards bomb group was asked to design suitable fairing and stabilizing fins for such a bomb. In the fall of 1943 it became apparent that plans for full scale tests should be started. In view of the critical shortage of B-29s it was at first proposed that a British Lancaster be used for the test work even though a B-29 would almost certainly be used as the combat ship. The Air Forces, however, wisely recommended that a B-29 be used for the test work as well both to avoid non-standard maintenance and to accumulate experience in B-29 operations with such a bomb. In order that the aircraft modifications could begin two external shapes and weights were selected by Parsons and Ramsey as representative of the current plans at Site Y. One of these was 204 inches long with a maximum diameter of 23 inches and was a model for the current gun assembly. The other was 111 inches long and 59 inches in diameter corresponding to a fast implosion assembly. For security reasons these were called by the Air Forces representatives the “Thin Man” and “Fat Man” respectively - the Air Forces officers tried to make their phone conversations sound as if they were modifying a plane to carry Roosevelt (the Thin Man) and Churchill (the Fat Man). Models of these dimensions were ordered from Detroit. Modification of the first B-29 officially began 29 November 1943. Colonel R. C. Wilson was Army Air Forces Project Officer for all aspects of the program, Colonel D. L. Putt at Wright Field was in charge of the division under whose supervision the modification was done, and Captain R. L. Roark was Project Officer in charge of the modification. Tests with the modified aircraft and full scale dummy bombs were begun at Muroc, California on 3 March 1944. These tests were participated in by Brode’s fusing group, Bainbridge’s instrumentation group, and the delivery group. Coordination of the activities of the different groups in these and subsequent field tests was a responsibility of Ramsey’s delivery group. The purpose of the test was to check the suitability of the fusing equipment, the stability and ballistic characteristics of the bombs, the facilities we then had available for field work, and the suitability of the aircraft to carry and drop the bombs. After four weeks of delay due to torrential rain on the Mojave Desert and due to aircraft troubles, a series of tests were completed. The negative results of most of these tests thoroughly justified the holding of preliminary tests at such an early date. The fuses proved to be unreliable and on the basis of these results an investigation into the possibility of adapting an APS-13 fighter tail warning radar to this use was begun. Although the Thin Man proved to be very stable in its flight, the Fat Man with a tail which the Bureau of Standards bomb group thought would be extremely stable proved to wobble badly with its axis departing 20o from the line of flight. Although the B-29 release mechanism worked satisfactorily for the Fat Man it failed completely for the Thin Man. Three of the units Appendix D !472 were bad hang ups with the delay being up to 10 seconds and the final drop was 20 minutes premature while the plane was still climbing to altitude. The bomb in this case fell onto the bomb bay door which had to be opened to jettison the bomb and which was badly damaged. With this accident the first Muroc tests were brought to an abrupt and spectacular end. Between the end of the first tests and June 1944, all groups worked to correct the faults shown to exist in the first tests. Also during this period it became apparent that Pu239 (Plutonium) could not be used in a gun due to neutron of Pu240 almost certainly causing a pre- detonation. Since the length of the gun model was due e x c l u s i v e l y t o t h e contemplated use with Pu239 it became clear that the gun velocity could for U235 be reduced to 1,000 ft/sec and the length of the bomb correspondingly reduced so that it could be fitted into a single bomb bay of the B-29, thus simplifying the aircraft installation job. Detailed designing of this model was begun during this p e r i o d u n d e r t h e This photo shows the four bomber aircraft tail warning radars that were supervision of McMillan converted for use as the four radar fuses for the fat man bomb (and also for the and Birch. Due to the Little Boy). For the Fat Man, the devices shown in this photo were mounted on contrast in dimensions the explosive sphere opposite to the X-Unit. The conversion changed these radars from use as radars to warn bombing aircraft of fighter attack from with the Thin Man this astern, into radar altimeters which would measure the height of the bomb above model finally acquired the the ground after release, and as it fell. When the pre-selected height above the appropriate name of Little ground was measured, the fuse would provide the signal to detonate the bomb, resulting in an above ground explosion. Boy. Also this period of detailed design of the 1222 form of Fat Man assembly was begun. In this model the high explosive was held together with an inner dural shell consisting of 12 pentagon sections surrounded by an armor steel shell consisting of 20 triangles. Tests at Muroc were resumed in June of 1944. These tests confirmed the previous results that the first form of fuse being developed at Michigan was not satisfactory. The first two APC-13's became available to the project during the test and two haywire drop tests (genuine bailing wire was actually used) were made with a field adaptation of this equipment to fusing. The first of those provided the first completely satisfactory fusing test accomplished and although the second failed it was probable that the failure was in some of the hastily prepared auxiliary equipment. The Fat Man with their tails modified from the original circular shroud to a square shroud 59 inches on a side still had an undamped wobble. As a desperate last resort Appendix D !473

Ramsey suggested a drop be made with internal 45o baffle plates welded into the inside of the shroud as a field modification. To everyone’s surprise this modification was successful with bomb being completely stable in its flight and with the ballistic coefficient being improved rather than decreased as anticipated. No release failures were experienced in the tests. From the end of these tests until October 1944 when similar field tests were resumed, a strenuous program of This photo shows the box tail of the bomb attached to the rear section of the bomb outer case. In the upper extreme right can design and procurement was under way be seen again one of the bath tub fittings joining the two at Site Y to obtain units which could be sections of the outer bomb case. used as components of an actual atomic bomb as opposed to units which were merely ballistic models. Three basically different models were worked on at this time. One was the Little Boy model of the U235 gun assembly, one was the 1222 Fat Man model of implosion assembly, and the third was a model which grew into the finally adopted 1561 Fat Man implosion assembly. The latter arose from a redesign for the purpose of simplifying the assembly problem (the assembly of the 1222 required the insertion of more than 1500 bolts) and of improving the flight characteristics by using an ellipsoidal shape for the outer This picture shows the unmounted box tail of the bomb, looking at the armor. It consisted essentially of part that would be attached to the rear section of the outer bomb case. an inner spherical shell consisting Not easy to distinguish, but this also shows the baffles that were placed in the box tail for a “parachute” effect, which smoothed out of two polar caps and a segmented completely the ballistic anomalies and made stable and reproducible control zone which could be bolted bomb ballistics flight possible. together and surrounded by an armor ellipsoid to which a stabilizing tail including the necessary drag plates were attached. The auxiliary fusing and electrical detonating equipment was mounted in the space between the inner sphere and outer ellipsoid. In August of 1943 Colonel R. C. Wilson and Colonel Demler visited Site Y and Appendix D !474

recommended that the Air Forces begin immediately to train a combat unit for the delivery of the Atomic Bomb. Therefore, it was agreed that Site Y should definitely freeze the external shapes of the three models and the other requirements that affected the aircraft by 1 September 1944 so that modification of a production lot of fifteen B-29s could be started. These aircraft were modified at the Martin Nebraska Plant at This shows the assembled bomb with the box tail to the right. Note at the Omaha and the first aircraft bottom (center) the “Yagi” antenna. Also at the very top (right center) note another “Yagi” antenna. There were four antennas, one for each radar became available in October. fuse. Four were used for reliability through redundancy and any two Sheldon Dike and Milo functioning would be adequate to initiate the fuse action. Also note Bolstad were the Project Y mounted on the front section of the outer bomb case, and to the left in the photo, two contact fuses. There were four of these M219 fuses mounted on representatives during these the front case to explode the bomb on contact with the ground, should the and subsequent modifications. radar fuses fail to function. The special modifications for carrying and releasing the bomb were designed to incorporate the British F and G release mechanism as was currently used for the British 12,000 pound bomb. This mechanism required only as ingle lug on the bomb. At this time Wendover Army Air Base was designated as the center at which training of the new Atomic Bomb Group would be undertaken and at which future field tests would be held. The Second Air Force under General Ent and later under General Williams was designated as the parent organization to this group. Colonel Paul Tibbets was designated commanding officer of the combat group (509 Composite Group) and Captain Charles Begg was in command of the 1st Ordnance Squadron, Special. Colonel Clifford J. Heflin was commanding officer at Wendover, Major C. S. Shields was in charge of the Flight Test Section, and Captain Henry Roerkohl was in charge of the Ordnance Test Unit. The first tests began at Wendover in October 1944. This began a period of tests which continued intermittently, then monthly, and finally almost continuously up to August of 1945. Initially the only groups concerned were the Fusing Group, under Brode and Doll and the Delivery Group lead by Ramsey. However as time went on the other groups which participated in the Wendover tests were the Gun Group headed by Birch, the High Explosives Assembly Group headed initially by Bainbridge and later by Bradbury and Warner, the Electrical Detonator Group headed by Fussell, and the Ballistic Group under Shapiro. At the end of November Commander F. L. Ashworth joined the Project and relieved Ramsey of the responsibility of directly supervising the field operations since by then important parts of the Delivery Program of necessity had to be under way concurrently at Wendover and Site Y. In these tests units Appendix D !475 approaching more and more closely to the final model were tested for ballistics information, for electrical fusing information, for flight tests of electrical detonators, for test of the aircraft release mechanism, for vibration information, for assembly experience, for temperature tests, etc.. In addition a number of additional test drops were made at the Naval Ordnance Test Station, Inyokern under the supervision of Charles and Thomas Lauritsen, William Fowler, and Commander Hayward, the Experimental Officer between 20 February of 1945 and August 1945. From October until the formal establishment of Project A the main activities in the Delivery Program were a continuation of development, design, production, and test of a bomb approaching more and more closely to the final model. During this period the 1222 model was definitely dropped in favor of the 1561 model of Fat Man. Due to the poor flying qualities of the first batch of B-29s and to certain weaknesses in the special project modifications a new batch of 15 aircraft were obtained in March and April of 1945. These aircraft had fuel injector engines, electric pitch controlled propellers, very rugged provisions for carrying the bomb and removal of all armament except the tail turret. These aircraft proved to be extremely satisfactory. By arrangement with General Norstad, Messrs. F. R. Collbohm and Warriez T. Dickenson participated in engineering tests of these modified aircraft. Colonel R. C. Doubleday was Army Air Forces Project Officer at the time of this last modification. In addition to Wendover tests during this period numerous physics and engineering tests on complete units were made at Y-Site initially under the direction of the Delivery Group and of Bernard Waldman and later, after the formation of Project A, under Bradbury and Warner. Considerable initial planning for the establishment of an overseas operating base was done during this period.

Chapter III HISTORY OF PROJECT A AT SITE Y

Project A was formally established in March of 1945. It incorporated many groups also assigned to other divisions of the Laboratory and was for the purpose of unifying the activities of those groups as concerned the preparation and delivery of a combat bomb 2. Captain W. S. Parsons was Officer in Charge of Project A, N. F. Ramsey was his deputy for scientific and technical matters, Commander F. L. Ashworth was operations officer and military alternate for Captain Parsons, Commander Norris Bradbury and Roger Warner were in charge of Fat Man Assembly, Commander Francis Birch was in charge of Little Boy Assembly, R. B. Brode was in charge of fusing, L. Fussell was in charge of the electrical detonator system, Phillip Morrison and Marshall Holloway were in charge of the pit (active material and tamper), Luis Alvares and Bernard Waldman were in charge of airborne observations of the combat explosions, George

2 It is interesting to note that many of the people listed as Army enlisted personnel with the “T” technical rating were actually civilian technicians and engineers attached to the Los Alamos Laboratory. It was believed that it would be desirable far as many as practicable of those assigned to the forward area be designated as military personnel. It was fascinating to see these people disappear from the Laboratory for a few days and return in Army uniforms. W.G. Penny, included in this list was Dr. William Penny, a noted British scientist representing the British government while working in the Laboratory. After the war, he was knighted by the Queen and became Sir William Penny. Appendix D !476

Galloway was in charge of engineering, Lt, Col. R. W. Lockridge was in charge of supply, Maurice Shapiro was in charge of ballistics and Sheldon Dike was in charge of aircraft problems. In addition the following persons were consultants to Project A: William Penney on damage problems, H. A. Bethe on general theory, and L. Hempelmann on radiological problems. In July as other personnel moved to Tinian, Sam Simmons and Lt. Comdr. T. J. Walker assumed the responsibility for the Wendover tests. The Technical policy committee responsible for initiating technical actions for Project A as recommendations to Capt. Parsons was the Weapons Committee consisting of N. F. Ramsey (Chairman), Comdr. Norris Bradbury (Chairman after Ramsey’s departure), Roger Warner, Comdr. F. Birch, R. B. Brode, L. Fussell and Phillip Morrison. Project A at Site Y and Wendover was concerned chiefly with three matters: (1) the completion of design, procurement and preliminary assembly of units which would be complete in every way for use with active material, (2) continuation of the Wendover test program to confirm in so far as possible without using active material the adequacy in flight of the components and assembled units, and (3) preparation for overseas operations against the enemy. In view of the shortness of the available time, the major designs were necessarily continued with as few alterations as possible. The chief design activities during this period were the numerous and urgent ones of supplying the many details necessary for successful operation and rectifying faults which became apparent in tests. Such matters as the exact design of the tamper sphere, incorporation of features to make a trap door assembly possible (to insert the sphere of plutonium known as the “pit”, This is a photo of the assembled Fat Man bomb explosive after the high explosive blocks had been sphere. None of the ancillary parts such as the X-Unit shown in the photos on the next page have been assembled to the assembled. This permitted assembly of sphere. the high explosive in the US and the “pit” inserted overseas), inclusion of a Hypodermic tube between the HE blocks for monitoring purposes, strengthening the Little Boy tail, etc. characterize this period. This was also the period of maximum activity in tests at Wendover. The unfortunate failure of the Raytheon Company to meet its delivery schedule on X-Units (electrical detonators) Appendix D !477

This is a photo of a Fat Man bomb under assembly. At the left is shown the assembled explosive sphere with the X-Unit attached. Note the co-axial cables from the X-unit leading to the detonators. Also note the circled “handlebar” detonator. To the right is the front section of the outer case of the bomb ready to the moved to the left to cover the front half of the explosive sphere.

This is a picture of a Fat Man type atom bomb under assembly. Seen to the left, the massive cylindrical component, is the X-Unit, the bank of four condensers that would be charged to about 5000 volts. It provided the electrical energy to all 32 “handlebar” (from their shape with two leads going into the detonator) detonators. To the right is the assembled explosive sphere with the conical mounting structure for the X-Unit. Appendix D !478 added markedly to the difficulty of the test program. This failure reduced the number of tests that were possible on the X-Units, prevented efficient testing since many tests had to be repeated twice - once at an early date with all components except an X-Unit and once at a critically late date with the X-Unit, and greatly complicated the scheduling of tests since there was no time in which to acquire a backlog of X-Units. The tightness of schedule resulting from this is best illustrated by the fact that it was not until the end of July that sufficient X-Units had been tested to confirm their safety with HE, the first HE filled fat man with an X-Unit was tested at Wendover 4 August, the first HE filled Fat Man with an X-Unit was tested at Tinian 8 August, and the first complete Fat Man with active material was dropped on Nagasaki 9 August. Despite these difficulties, however, a total of 155 test units were dropped at Wendover or the Salton Sea ballistic test range between October and the middle of August 1945. Much information was learned in these tests and incorporated into the design of the units. Planning for overseas operations was one of the chief activities of Project A during this period. Initial planning and procurement of some kits of tools, etc. began in December with these activities continuing at an accelerated rate up through July. In February of 1945 Comdr. Ashworth was sent to Tinian to make a preliminary survey of the location and to select a site for our activities. By March the construction needs of the Tinian Base were frozen as the following: Four (4) air conditioned 20' x 48' steel arch rib of the type normally used in the Navy for bomb sight repair (two for the fusing team, one for the electrical detonator team, and one for the joint use by the pit team and observation team), three (3) air conditioned 20' x 70' assembly buildings for which the materials were accumulated at Inyokern, five (5) 40' x 100' steel arch rib warehouse buildings, one (1) building of the same basic type as an ordnance administrative building, one (1) building of the same type as a modification shop, three (3) 10' x 10' x 5' magazines, seven (7) 20' x 50' x 10' magazines and two (2) special loading pits equipped with hydraulic lifts for loading bombs into the aircraft. A third such pit was constructed at Iwo Jima for possible emergency use. Materials for equipping the buildings and for handling heavy equipment in assembly, tools, scientific instruments, and general supplies were all included in special kits prepared by the different groups. A kit for a central stock room was also started but the materials for the latter were not shipped by August at which time further shipments to Tinian were stopped by the end of the war. Construction of the Tinian base began under the supervision of Colonel E. E. Kirkpatrick 3 in April. Beginning in May so called batches of kit materials and components for test and combat units were sent by water borne transportation to Tinian. A total of five batch shipments were made. In addition a number of air shipments in five C-54 aircraft attached to the 509th Group were made for critically needed items. The availability of these C-54s for emergency shipments contributed greatly to the ability of Project A to beat its schedules in combat use of the Atomic Bomb.

3 Colonel Kirkpatrick, Army Corps of Engineers, was especially selected by General Groves to supervise the construction of our facilities at Tinian. Admiral Nimitz, the top Navy commander in the Pacific, ordered a Navy Seabee Battalion to report to Colonel Kirkpatrick to provide him the manpower for the construction work. Appendix D !479

Chapter IV HISTORY OF PROJECT A AT TINIAN

The Project A organization at Tinian consisted of the following: Officer-in-Charge, Captain W. S. Parsons; Scientific and Technical Deputy to Officer-in-Charge, N. F. Ramsey; Operations Officer and Military Alternate to Officer-in-Charge, Comdr. F. L. Ashworth; Fat Man Assembly Team headed by Roger Warner; Little Boy Assembly Team headed by Comdr. Francis Birch; Fusing Team headed by E. B. Doll; Electrical Detonator Team headed by Lt. Comdr. E. Stevenson; Pit Team headed by Phillip Morrison and C. P. Baker; Observation Team headed by Luis Alverez and Bernard Waldman; Aircraft Ordnance Team headed by Sheldon Dike; and Special Consultants consisting of Robert Serber, W. G. Penney and Captain J. F. Nolan. The team leaders formed a Project Technical Committee under the chairmanship of Ramsey to coordinate technical matters and to recommend technical actions to Captain Parsons. The following persons were team members: Harold Agnew, Ensign D. L. Anderson, T/5 B. Bederson, Milo Bolstad, T/Sgt. Raymond Brin, T/Sgt. V. Caleca. T/Sgt. E. Carlson, T/4 A. Collins, T/Sgt. R. Dawson, T/Sgt. F. Fortune, T/3 W. Goodman, T/3 D. Harms, Lt. J. D. Hopper, T/Sgt. J. Kupferberg, L. Johnston, L. Langer, T/Sgt. W. Larkin, H. Linschitz, A. Machen, Ens. D. Mastick, T/3 R. Matthews, Lt (jg) V. Miller, T/3 L. Motechko, T/Sgt. W. Murphy, T/Sgt E. Nookar, T. Olmstead, Ens. B. O’Keefe, T. Perlamn, Ens. W. Prohs, Ens. G. Renolds, H. Russ, R. Schreiber, T/Sgt. G. Thornton, Ens. Tucker, and T/4 F. Zimmerli. Although not strictly a part of Project A, the following were closely associated with the work of Project A: Rear Admiral W. R. Purnell, representative of the Washington Atomic Bomb Military Policy Committee; Brig. Gen. T. F. Farrell, representative of Major Gen. L. R. Groves; Colonel E. E. Kirkpatrick, alternate to Gen. Farrell and officer-in-charge of construction; Colonel P. F. Tibbets, commanding officer of the 509th Composite Group; Lt. Col. Peer de Silva, commanding officer of the 1st Technical Service Detachment, which served as administrative, security and housing organization for Project A; and Major Charles Begg, commanding officer of the First Ordnance Squadron, Special. Although preliminary construction at Tinian began in April of 1945, intense technical activities, however, did not begin until July. The first half of July was occupied in establishing and installing all of the technical facilities needed for assembly and test work at Tinian. After completion of these technical preparations, a little boy unit was assembled and on 23 July the Tinian base became fully operational for little boy tests with the dropping of unit L1. In this test the dummy little boy was fired in the air by the radar fuse. In this as in subsequent Tinian tests excellent results were obtained. The second little boy unit, Unit L2, was dropped 24 July, and a third, Unit L5, on 25 July. The only remaining little boy included as part of the test for a check of facilities at Iwo Jima for emergency reloading of the bomb into another aircraft. Since the Iwo facilities were not ready until 29 July this test was postponed until then. On 29 July a completely successful test of the Iwo facilities was completed. The plane landed with this unit, L6, at Tinian so that it could be used in the final rehearsal maneuvers. On 31 July the plane with L6 took off accompanied by the two observation planes. The planes flew to Iwo where a rendezvous was made and then returned to Tinian where the bomb was dropped and observed to function properly. After the release of the bomb all three aircraft rehearsed the turning maneuvers to clear the area as soon as possible which would be used in combat. With the Appendix D !480 completion of this test all tests preliminary to combat delivery of a little boy with active material were completed. The first fat man test, unit F13, was made on 1 August. This unit used cast plaster blocks, electronic fusing, eight electric detonators, Raytheon detonating X unit and informers and smoke puffs on the operation of the detonators. The test showed that all essential components of the bomb functioned satisfactorily. A second inert fat man, F18, similar to F13 was prepared and loaded into a B-29 for a drop on 3 August. However, due to the lack of information at Tinian of the results of the Kingman tests on the adequacy of the venting in the sealed fat man, this unit was unloaded and the barometric switches modified so that this information would be obtained on unit F18. In this modified form it was dropped on 5 August. All components functioned satisfactorily and the venting was adequate for the internal pressure to close a barometric switch set for 17,000 feet pressure altitude 17 seconds before impact. Closing of the barometric switches started the fusing radars to radiate. The only remaining preliminary fat man test was unit F33, a replica of the active unit except for the lack of active material and the use of lower quality high explosive lens castings. The components for this unit arrived at Tinian at 1230 on 2 August and preliminary assembly began the same day. Although this unit was fully prepared by 5 August, it was not dropped until 8 August due to absence of key crews and aircraft on the hot little boy mission. The mission was then conducted as a final rehearsal for the delivery of the first live fat man. Both the rehearsal operation and the detonation of the unit were completely satisfactory. On 26 July the U235 projectile for the little boy was delivered by the cruiser Indianapolis. The U235 target insert arrived in three separate parts in three otherwise empty Air Transport Command C-54s during the evening of 28 to 29 July. All three had arrived by 0200 29 July. Since the earliest date previously discussed for combat delivery for the fat man was 5 August (at one time the official date was 15 August), Parsons and Ramsey cabled General Groves for permission to drop the first active unit perhaps as early as 1 August, with 2 August being more probable since the weather was forecast to be bad on 1 August. Although the active unit, No. L11 was completely ready in plenty of time for a 2 August delivery, the weather at the target objective was not. The first, second, third, and fourth of August were spent in impatient waiting for good weather. Finally on the morning of 5 August we received word that the weather should be good on 6 August. At 1400 on 5 August General LeMay officially confirmed that the mission would take place on 6 August. The little boy was loaded onto its transporting trailer at 1400 5 August and with an accompanying battery of official photographers under G-2 (security) supervision was taken to the loading pit. The B-29 was backed over the pit at 1500 and the unit was loaded shortly thereafter. The aircraft was then taxied to its hard stand where final testing of the unit was completed. By 1800 all was ready. Between then and takeoff the aircraft was under continuous watch both from a military guard and from representatives of the key technical groups. Final briefing was at 0000 (midnight) of 6 August. Following this and an early breakfast the crews assembled at their aircraft. There amid brilliant floodlights their pictures were taken and retaken by still and motion picture photographers as if for a Hollywood premier. For this mission Col P. W. Tibbets was pilot of the B-29, named the Enola Gay which carried the bomb, Major Thomas Ferrebee was bombardier, Captain W. S. Parsons was bomb commander, and Lt. Appendix D !481

Morris Jepson was electronics test officer for the bomb. L. Alvarez, Bernard Waldman, Harold Agnew and Larry Johnston rode in the accompanying observation aircraft. The progress of the mission is best described in the log which Capt. Parsons kept during the flight:

6 August 1945 0245 Take off 0300 Started final loading of gun 0315 Finished loading 0605 Headed for Empire from Iwo 0730 Red plugs in (these plugs armed the bomb so it would detonate if released) 0741 Started climb Weather report received that weather over primary and tertiary targets was good but not over secondary target. 0838 Leveled off at 32,700 feet 0847 All Archies (electronic fuses) tested to be O.K. 0904 Course west 0909 Target (Hiroshima) in sight 0915½ Dropped bomb (Originally scheduled time was 0915) Flash followed by two slaps on plane. Huge cloud 1000 Still in sight of cloud which must be over 40,000 feet high 1003 Fighter reported 1041 Lost sight of cloud 363 miles from Hiroshima with aircraft being 26,000 feet high

The crews of the strike and observation aircraft reported that 5 minutes after release a low 3 mile diameter dark grey cloud hung over the center of Hiroshima, out of the center of this a white column of smoke rose to a height of 35,000 feet with the top of the cloud being considerably enlarged. Four hours after, the strike photo-reconnaissance planes found that most of the city of Hiroshima was still obscured by the cloud created by the explosion although fires could be seen around the edges. However, the following day excellent pictures were obtained which showed the tremendous magnitude of the power of a single atomic bomb, which completely destroyed 60 percent of the city of Hiroshima. The first fat man with active material, unit F31, was originally scheduled for dropping on 11 August local time (at one time the schedule called for 20 August). However, by 7 August it became apparent that the schedule could be advanced to 10 August. When Parsons and Ramsey proposed this change to Tibbets he expressed regret that the schedule could not be advanced two days instead of only one since good weather was forecast for 9 August and the five succeeding days were expected to be bad. It was finally agreed that Project A would try to be ready for 9 August provided it was understood by all concerned that the advancement of the date by two full days introduced a large measure of uncertainty into the probability of our meeting such a drastically revised schedule. However, all went well with the assembly and by 2200 of 8 August the unit was loaded and fully checked. Appendix D !482

The strike plane and two observing planes too off at 0347 local time on 9 August. Major C. W. Sweeney was pilot of the strike ship, Capt. K. K. Beahan was bombardier, Comdr. F. L. Ashworth was bomb commander, and Lt. Philip Barnes was electronics test officer. This mission was as eventful as the Hiroshima mission was operationally routine. Due to bad weather between Tinian and Iwo Jima a preliminary rendezvous was not planned for the three aircraft at Iwo Jima and instead the briefed route to the empire was from Tinian direct to Yakoshima on Kyushu. The briefed cruising altitude was 17,000 feet. Commander Ashworth’s log for the trip is as follows:

0347 Take off 0400 Changed green plugs to red prior to pressurizing 0500 Charged detonator condensers to test leakage. Satisfactory 0915 Arrived rendezvous point at Yakashima and circled awaiting accompanying aircraft 0920 One B-29 sighted and joined formation 0950 Departed from Yakashima proceeding to primary target Kokura having failed to rendezvous with second B-29. The weather reports received by radio indicated good weather at Kokura (3/10 low clouds, no intermediate or high clouds, and forecast of improving conditions). The weather reports for Nagasaki were good but increasing cloudiness was forecast. For this reason the primary target was selected. 1044 Arrived initial point and started bombing run on target. Target was obscured by heavy ground haze and smoke. Two additional runs were made hoping that the target might be picked up after closer observation. However at no time was the aiming point seen. It was then decided to proceed to Nagasaki after approximately 45 minutes had been spent in the target area. 1150 Arrived in Nagasaki target area. Approach to target was entirely by radar. At 1158 the bomb was dropped after a twenty second visual bombing run. The bomb functioned normally in all respects. 1205 Departed for Okinawa after having circled smoke column. Lack of available gasoline caused by an in-operative bomb bay tank booster pump forced decision to land at Okinawa before returning to Tinian. 1351 Landed at Yontan Field, Okinawa 1706 Departed Okinawa for Tinian 2245 Landed at Tinian

Due to bad weather, good photo reconnaissance pictures were not obtained until almost a week after the Nagasaki mission. These showed that the bomb detonated somewhat north of the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works. All other factories and buildings on the Urakami River from the Wakajima Gawa River through the Mitsubishi Urakami Ordnance Plant were destroyed. The distance from the northernmost factory that was destroyed to the southern boundary of complete destruction was about three miles and damage might have occurred north of the Urakami Ordnance Plant if any buildings had been there. Although only 44 percent of the city was Appendix D !483 destroyed by the official record, this was due to the unfavorable shape of the city and not to the location of the bomb detonation. On the day following the Nagasaki mission, the Japanese initiated surrender negotiations. Consequently further activity in preparing active units was suspended. However, the entire project was maintained in a state of complete readiness for further assemblies in the event of a failure in the peace negotiations. For the first week following the Nagasaki mission the test program at Tinian was continued and three dummy fat man units, Nos. F101, F102, and F103 were prepared. They were not dropped, however, since the Japanese had stated their willingness to accept the American terms prior to the date scheduled for the drop. Originally it was planned to return all Project A technical personnel to the United States on 20 August except for those assigned to the Farrell Mission for investigating the results of the atomic bombing of Japan. However, on 18 August a message was received from General Groves stating that in view of the then current delays in the surrender procedures all key Project A personnel should remain at Tinian until the success of the occupation of Japan was assured. The scientific and technical personnel finally received authorization for return to the United States on 5 September and departed from Tinian on 7 September 1945. With the departure the activities of Project A were effectively terminated although Col. Kirkpatrick and Comdr. Ashworth remained behind at Tinian for final disposition of Project A property.

Chapter V CONCLUSION

As in all urgently expedited development projects for which there are no precedents, many mistakes were made in Project A. With the benefit of the experience accumulated by Project A it would subsequently be possible to re-plan its activities to accomplish its objective both with greater economy and with improved designs. However, despite the novelty of the weapon and the lack of precedent for most of its problems, Project A did successfully accomplish all of its major objectives and did so on or ahead of time. The object of Project A was to assure the successful combat use of an atomic bomb at the earliest possible date after a field test of an atomic explosion and after the availability of the necessary nuclear material. This objective was very effectively accomplished. The first combat bomb was ready for use against the enemy within seventeen days after the first experimental nuclear explosion at Alamogordo and almost all of the intervening time was spent in accumulating additional active material for making an additional bomb. The first atomic bomb was prepared for combat use against the enemy on 2 August within four days of the time of the delivery of all of the active material needed for that bomb. Actual combat use was delayed until 6 August only by bad weather over Japan. The second atomic bomb was used in combat only three days after the first despite its being a completely different model and one much more difficult to assemble. The success of the combat use of the atomic bomb is best summarized by the fact that Japan began surrender negotiations four days after the use of the first atomic bomb. !484

APPENDIX E

THE WATCH THAT NEVER ENDS Navy Day Speech Santa Fe, New Mexico October 1982

It is just after midnight in the Indian Ocean. On the bridge of the aircraft carrier Nimitz there has just taken place that orderly confusion as the bridge watch changes. The mid- watch going off, the morning watch coming on. A young Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, probably not over twenty eight years of age has assumed the responsibilities of the duty of the Officer of the Deck of this great nuclear powered aircraft carrier. He learned from the Officer of the Deck who he relieved that the battle group is steaming as before, speed eighteen knots, course 270 degrees true, weather clear, wind 7 knots from the south west, temperature 95 degrees, sky partly cloudy and sunrise at 5:46 AM. Ships present: USS America, USS Ticonderoga, and destroyers Spruance, Turner, Parsons, and Knox. The Captain has ordered flight quarters at 6:00 AM to start the day’s flight operations. In short, just another routine day for naval forces deployed in the Indian Ocean. But let us examine a little closer that “just routine” day.

We have a friend in the embarked air wing who is a Lieutenant Junior Grade. He just turned twenty-two last week. This is his second deployment to the Indian Ocean. His wife and their little boy are living in San Diego and it has been six months since the battle group left San Diego for this Indian Ocean deployment. If all goes well her husband will be home in two more months, and maybe, he might be ordered to shore duty on his return. In short, just a routine period in the life of a navy family.

Our Lieutenant friend finally turned in last night at about mid-night. He is the Engineering Officer of his squadron and it is his responsibility to see that all scheduled aircraft of his squadron will be ready for launch in the morning flight operations. It seemed as if he had only fallen asleep when flight quarters was sounded over the ship’s general announcing system. He has a few minutes to get breakfast before he goes to his ready room to brief for his flight mission of the day.

Our young Lieutenant has a Plane Captain assigned to his squadron aircraft. He is a Second-Class Aviation Machinist Mate, older than his pilot, and with a family of a wife and two little girls, also living in San Diego. This is his third Indian Ocean deployment. Even though he had worked until after mid-night preparing his plane for the morning flight operations, his reveille was at 05:00 o’clock. He has to be on the flight deck at six Appendix E !485 to prepare for the 8:00 o’clock launch.

All seems to be confusion on the flight deck, but it is an orderly confusion. Each man knows his job and all function as a smooth running team. Nimitz is picking up speed and the wind over the deck reaches twenty-seven knots in preparation for the launch.

Down below in the main engine control room, the crew on duty is responding to the Officer of the Deck’s call for “all engines ahead full, make turns for twenty-two knots”. A First Class Petty Officer in the reactor control room raises the power in the reactor — more steam is generated to turn the turbines as the throttle man opens the main throttles, and the great engines respond to the order. In the engine room the temperature has reached nearly 120 degrees in spite of the air conditioning. “Man, wouldn’t a cold beer taste good right now — how long has it been since we had one?” “Seventy-six days ago when we were in Singapore — it will be another 14 days before we hit the beach in Mombasa for another one”.

Pilots have manned their planes, the great carrier has turned into the wind and our friend has just finished helping our pilot into his parachute harness, hooked up the oxygen tube to his mask and connected his helmet to the radio earphone wires. A thumbs up from the pilot and he is ready to taxi to the catapult for launch. Full rpm on his jet engine, a snappy salute to the launching officer and the catapult fires. In 110 feet his aircraft reaches a speed of 125 knots and he is airborne for a routine training and readiness flight — on a routine day aboard an aircraft carrier, during routine deployment in the Indian Ocean.

On the other side of the world, in the Arctic Ocean, north of Iceland, it is now 6:00 o’clock in the afternoon. Aboard the nuclear powered Poseidon missile submarine, USS Andrew Jackson, the crew is at supper. She has been on patrol for two months and has another month to do before returning to her home port in Charleston, South Carolina. She has been operating submerged continuously during all this time. Her only connection to the outside world is from periodic radio broadcast intercepts. A large portion of these broadcasts is devoted to “family grams”. Petty Officer Brown’s baby was born last week and baby and mother are doing fine. Ensign Hernandez’ wife reports that her automobile has broken down, but friends in the Gold Crew have fixed it and now it runs fine. Lieutenant Anderson’s family gram told him that his wife’s divorce was now final and she has returned with their children to the home of her parents.

The day has been devoted to training drills to maintain the missile crew in the maximum state of readiness, in case the message, that all hands hope will never come, might come. The reactor operators and the engine room crews have been drilling at casualty Appendix E !486 procedures, for, of all navy ships, nuclear submarines must achieve the highest state of readiness to cope with accidents and casualties of any kind.

Down on the ice in the Antarctic at the McMurdo Sound Naval Station it is now 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon. It is early spring down there, but it is still very cold — nearly 60 degrees below zero. The weather, as usual, is miserable. Heavy overcast, clouds almost touching the ice surface, and there is occasional blowing snow. A Navy C-130 supply aircraft has just reported that it is estimating arrival at McMurdo Station in 22 minutes. The pilot is flying on instruments and he requests a ground controlled approach and landing to the airfield.

Air Control man Garcia already has the aircraft in radar contact and is ready to take control. “Turn right to 100 degrees magnetic, reduce speed to normal approach speed and descend to 1,000 feet. Now turn left to 095 degrees. Approaching glide path, commence decent at 500 feet per minute, on glide path now. Above glide path — bring her down. OK, on glide path one half mile from touchdown. Over the end of the runway, you should have visual contact. Take over visually and make normal landing”. “Roger, man perfect! — touchdown! Thanks, glad to be safely home”.

Just another routine day, in another part of the world.

And so it goes, here at home, in the Arctic, the Antarctic, the North Atlantic, the Pacific, yes, all over the world, your Navy is carrying out its routine duties — On Watch — Ready, always ready.

I have a painting that has been hanging in my home for almost 45 years, wherever that might have been as my wife and I moved about the world. It was painted in 1937 by the well known marine water color artist, Arthur Beaumont. It is a painting of a battleship of those days, the USS Maryland. She is steaming under heavy and leaden colored winter skies, in choppy winter sea. The title of the painting is “The Watch That Never Ends”. I have often thought, over these many years, how that picture shows what the United States Navy is all about — THE WATCH THAT NEVER ENDS.

Today, with this ceremony, we are marking 207 years during which the men, women, ships, and aircraft of your Navy have been on watch, ever vigilant, ready, always ready, in peace and in war.

There is a common saying well known to everyone — “Out of sight, is out of mind”. This morning I have tried, with our little trip around the world, to refresh your minds, to try to have you live for a few moments with those out there who are sacrificing so much Appendix E !487 as they serve. So today, on this 207th birthday of the Navy, let us not forget the men and women, and their families, who serve their country, be they Navy, Marine, Army, or Air Force. We owe them all a debt of gratitude, respect and understanding, for their shield, as they stand THE WATCH THAT NEVER ENDS, we live at home in peace. 488

APPENDIX F

Nagasaki Attack Strike Reports Appendix F !489 490 491 492 Index to the Oral History of Vice Admiral Frederick L. Ashworth, U.S. Navy (Retired)

A3D Skywarrior Nuclear weapons delivery capability, 246, 250 Experienced problems with carrier operations in the mid-1950s, 243-244, 313-314, 319-320

A-7 Corsair II Flown by David Ashworth during the Vietnam War, 80

AJ Savage Navy aircraft developed after World War II to deliver nuclear weapons, 159, 231, 241-242, 246-250, 253 Accidents involving loss of planes in the early 1950s, 241-242

Aden Visited by the aircraft carrier Essex (CVS-9) in 1960, 349-350

Advanced Carrier Training Group In 1942, based at North Island Naval Air Station, provided training to torpedo plane pilots, 103-105

Aichel, Commander Alfred M., USN (USNA, 1928) Chief engineer of the aircraft carrier Midway (CVB-41) in the early 1950s, 261

Air Force, U.S. After creation in 1947 wanted the dominant role in U.S. military operations, 229, 230, 242, 246 High-speed testing by Major John Paul Stapp in 1954, 303 Work of Air Force research laboratories over the years, 305 Air Force-Navy tug of war on avionics in the early 1960s, 305-361 In the early 1960s was involved in the development of the TFX/F-111 fighter, 252, 358-360, 363-367

Alamogordo, New Mexico Site of atomic bomb test in the summer of 1945, 163, 166, 169

Albemarle, USS (AV-5) Seaplane tender that operated in support of the Operations Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, 220, 220, 224

Alcohol The battleship West Virginia (BB-48) was in port at San Francisco in late 1933 when Prohibition was repealed and crew members returned to the ship drunk, 54 In 1943 Lieutenant Commander Weldon Hamilton, while on Guadalcanal, was due to be toasted with whiskey for an upcoming promotion, but he was killed before it came through, 121-122 Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner turned to alcohol during the Okinawa campaign in 1945 because he was under so much strain, 132-134 Liberal servings of rice wine when Ashworth visited Taiwan in the mid-1950s, 287-288 Captain Ashworth’s position concerning his executive officer’s drinking when they were at the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, in the mid-1950s, 300

Algeria Oran was the site of the critique for a U.S.-French antisubmarine exercise in the early 1960s, 350-351

ALSOS Mission At the end of World War II, U.S. officers visited France and Germany to ascertain German technical developments during the war, 275

Alvarez, Dr. Luis W. In August 1945 was on board a B-29 during the Hiroshima atomic bomb mission, later wrote a critical letter about Ashworth, 209-210

Amphibious Force Central Pacific Staff officers in 1943-44, 127-140

Amphibious Warfare Army-Marine Corps assault in the Gilbert Islands in November 1943, 126, 128 Amphibious assault and capture of Kwajalein and Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands in early 1944, 132-133

Anderson, Admiral George W. Jr., USN (USNA, 1927) From 1959 to 1961 was Commander Sixth Fleet, 397 As Chief of Naval Operations during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, 353 As CNO, was ordered to get Ashworth out of Washington, 366, 373 Relieved as CNO in 1963, in part for his position on the TFX/F-111 issue, 360, 397 Served in the mid-1960s as U.S. ambassador to Portugal, 373

Antarctica Development in the late 1950s of nuclear power and trained operators for McMurdo Sound, 336-337

Antiair Warfare In the late 1930s Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) towed target sleeves for antiair gunnery practice, 91-92 Antiaircraft guns fired at “Washing Machine Charlie” Japanese planes over Guadalcanal in 1943, 111 Japanese firing against TBF Avengers operating in the northern Solomons in 1943, 115-117 Sporadic firing at a B-29 that attempted to drop an atomic bomb on Kokura, Japan, in August 1945, 184

Antisubmarine Warfare Role of Carrier Division 18 in 1960-61, 342-352 CENTO antisubmarine exercise MidLink in the early 1960s, 60, 343, 345-346, 348- 351 U.S.-French exercise in the Mediterranean in the early 1960s, 350-351 ANEW system developed in the early 1960s wound up in the S-3 and P-3 aircraft, 356 When he took command of the Sixth Fleet in 1966, Ashworth asked for an antisubmarine carrier, 400 NATO concern about the operation of Soviet submarines in the Mediterranean, 1966-67, 413-414

Argonne, USS (AG-31) Served as flagship for Commander Base Force, U.S. Fleet, in the late 1930s housed the fleet air photo lab, 89-90

Armed Forces Special Weapons Project Established in 1947 to oversee U.S. atomic weapons, 219, 239

Army, U.S. Amphibious assault in the Gilbert Islands in November 1943, 128, 136 Amphibious assault in the Marshall Islands in early 1944, 132 In 1945 the First Ordnance Squadron assembled atomic bomb components on Tinian, 163 Field exercises in Germany in the mid-1960s, 386-387

Army Air Corps, U.S. In the late 1930s did experimental night photography work at Wright Field, 73

Army Air Forces, U.S. During World War II used Norden bombsights developed by the Navy, 99, 101 P-38 Mustang operations from Guadalcanal in 1943, 111 In 1943 B-25 Mitchells supported a Navy minelaying operation, 116 Wendover Field, Utah, Army Air Forces base was used in World War II as part of the Manhattan project to develop and test the atomic bomb, 142-146, 152, 157 As Chief of the Army Air Forces in World War II, General Henry Arnold established a top priority known as “Silverplate,” 155 Established a base on Tinian in 1945 for atomic bomb missions, 155-156 B-29 missions that bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 101, 147-149, 152, 154, 175-178, 182-200, 207-216 In 1946 pushed for atomic bomb tests against ships, Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll, 219-227 After Bikini participated in the Military Liaison Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission, 228-229

Arnold, General Henry H., USA (USMA, 1907) As Chief of the Army Air Forces in World War II, established a top priority known as “Silverplate,” 155 Awarded a Silver Star to Ashworth for the Nagasaki mission, 205-206

Ashworth, Barry H., USN (USNA, 1961) Left the Naval Academy in 1957, his plebe year, 33

Ashworth, Captain David B., USNR Survived a case of pneumonia in early 1945, 332 School experiences, 342, 373 Completed the NROTC program at Stanford in 1966 and became a naval aviator, 12, 22, 378, 384, 397, 430 Flew the A-7 Corsair II during the Vietnam War and later as a reservist, 80, 87-88 Activities as an adult with parents, 450, 456, 459

Ashworth, Vice Admiral Frederick L., USN (Ret.) (USNA, 1933) Ancestors, 1-2, 4, 11 Parents, 1-4, 6-10, 13, 15-16, 19-21, 30-31, 33, 44, 47, 63, 142 Siblings, 1-2, 4-6, 8-11, 14-19, 24, 33-34, 38, 40, 65, 74-77, 84-85 First wife Nathalie “Nan,” 7, 19, 22, 30-31, 47-48, 62-64, 66, 70, 86-87, 95-96, 98, 102, 123, 134, 137, 142-144, 217, 257, 292, 310, 328, 330-332, 342, 349-350, 353, 375, 378, 384-385, 387-389, 393, 396-399, 403, 407, 416, 433, 440, 444-445, 450-451 Second wife Evelyn “Ercie,” 7, 19-20, 45-46, 87, 334, 378, 451-455, 458-460 Sons, 7-8, 10, 12-13, 22-23, 47-48, 53-54, 95-96, 98, 102, 123, 137, 142-144, 234-238, 257, 292, 309-310, 328, 330, 332, 373, 378, 384, 397, 430, 450, 451, 456-460 Boyhood in Massachusetts in the 1910s and 1920s, 1-23, 33 Attended Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, 1928-29, 4, 7, 10-13, 21-24, 34 Application to the Naval Academy in the late 1920s, 11, 13, 24 As a Naval Academy midshipman, 1929-33, 1, 10-12, 22, 24-44 Served in the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) from 1933 to 1935, 40, 42, 51-65, 321 Received flight training in 1935-36, 68-72 In 1936-37 served in Scouting Squadron Two/Three (VS-2/VS-3), 9-10, 64, 77-88, 322 Served 1937-39 in Utility Squadron One (VJ-1), 17, 71-74, 72-76, 89-90 As a student, from 1939 to 1941, at the Naval Postgraduate School, Annapolis, Maryland, 95-98 Practical work, 1941-42, in the Bureau of Ordnance, 98-102 Commanded Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), 1942-43, 40, 106-125 In 1943-44 served on the staff of Commander Central Pacific Amphibious Force, 126-136, 333 From June to November 1944 was the senior naval aviator at the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia, 136-137 Assigned to the Manhattan Project in 1944-45 for the development and delivery of the atomic bomb, 45-46, 101, 141-216 Served in 1945-46 in OP-36, the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Special Weapons), 217, 232-238 From 1946 to 1948 was secretary of the Military Liaison Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission, 228-229, 231, 266-269, 275-276 In 1948-50 was executive officer of Composite Squadron Five (VC-5), 71, 134, 230, 239-250 From January to December of 1950 commanded Composite Squadron Six (VC-6), 241, 243-244, 249-254 As executive officer of the aircraft carrier Midway (CVB-41) in 1951, 59, 255-256 In 1952-54 served on the staff of the Atomic Energy Commission, 266-277 Commanded the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37), 1954-55, 53, 260-261, 271, 278-291 From 1955 to 1957 commanded the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 272-273, 292-308 Commanded the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42), 1957-58, 48-49, 244, 257, 261-262, 309-328, 411-412 Served one month in 1958 as commandant of midshipmen at the Naval Academy, 328-329 From 1958 to 1960 was chief of the Atomic Energy Division, OP-76, in OpNav, 271, 329-340 In 1958 was on a curriculum review board for the Naval Academy, 32-33, 381-382 In 1960-61 commanded Carrier Division 18, 60, 79, 264, 320, 330, 342-352 Served 1961-63 as deputy chief of the Bureau of Naval Weapons, 49-50, 299-300, 305, 353-372 Commanded Carrier Division One, 1963-64, 32, 264-265, 320-321, 373-383 In 1964, during a break from the carrier division command, attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, 378-383 From 1964 to 1966 served as deputy chief of staff in the U.S. European Command, 330-331, 350, 381-382, 384-391 Commanded the Sixth Fleet, 1966-67, 4, 46-48, 60, 333-334, 345, 373, 393-430 In 1967-68 was Deputy Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet, 336, 373, 428-434 Activities after retirement from active duty in 1968, 272, 440-458 Death of in 2005, 459-460

Ashworth, Frederick L. Jr. Traveled with his parents when he was young, 332 School experiences, 342, 373, 384 Activities as an adult with parents, 7-8, 53-54, 450, 456-460 Ashworth, Lieutenant (junior grade) Philip H., USN (USNA, 1931) Dick Ashworth’s older brother, two years ahead at the Naval Academy, 1, 11, 16-17, 24, 34, 38 Initial commissioned service in the battleship West Virginia (BB-48), 40, 51, 65 Wife Pat, 86 Various duties as a naval aviator in the 1930s, 17, 40, 74-77, 84-87 Killed in a plane crash in Hawaii in November 1938, 17, 83

Ashworth, Aviation Machinist’s Mate Second Class, Steven W., USN School experiences, 47, 342, 373, 384, 397 Enlisted service in the Navy, beginning in 1966, 10, 47, 397-398 Activities as an adult with parents, 450, 456, 459

Astoria, USS (CA-34) Japanese gunnery sank the ship off Guadalcanal in August 1942, 43

Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Created by Congress in 1946, 218, 229 Role of the Military Applications Division, 1952-54, 266-269

Augusta, USS (CA-31) President Harry Truman was on board when he announced the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Japan in August 1945, 177

Australia Rest and recreation trip to by Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) during World War II, 109-110, 121

Awards, Naval In 1943 Ashworth received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his leadership of Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), 125 Medals in 1945 for the crew of the Hiroshima atomic bomb mission, 177 Ashworth received the Legion of Merit for his work in the Manhattan Project, 204 Ashworth received the Silver Star for the Nagasaki mission, 205-206 In 1947 Ashworth received the Bronze Star for his duty on the staff of Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner in 1943-44, 134, 138-140 In 1947 Ashworth received a second Legion of Merit, this one for his work in Operation Crossroads, 232-233 In 1967 Ashworth received the Distinguished Service Medal for his command of the Sixth Fleet, 405-406, 428, 438 In 1968 Ashworth received the Distinguished Service Medal for his service as Deputy Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet, 405-406, 428, 438

B-25 Mitchell In 1943 a squadron of B-25s supported a Navy mine-laying operation in the Solomon Islands, 116 B-29 Superfortress Flew the atomic bomb missions that hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 101, 147-149, 152, 155-158, 163-169, 175-200, 207-216 Took part in Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946, 161-162, 220-222

Bache, USS (DD-470) Ran aground on rocks off the island of Rhodes in 1968 and was lost, 415

Barbers Point, Hawaii, Naval Air Station In 1942 became the training base for Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), 107-108

Barnes, Second Lieutenant Philip M., USA Electronics expert on board the B-29 Bockscar for the bombing mission against Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 181, 183

Bartosik, Captain Józef C., Royal Navy Polish-born officer who commanded a Royal Navy destroyer squadron in the early 1960s, 60, 348-349

Beahan, Captain Kermit K., USAAF Bombardier on the B-29 Bockscar that bombed Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 101, 167, 174, 177-178, 183-185, 193, 207-209, 213-214

Beakley, Vice Admiral Wallace M., USN (USNA, 1924) Served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Fleet Operations and Readiness) from 1958 to 1961, 333-334 Difficult personality, 334, 340 First wife’s health problems, 334 Committed suicide in 1975, 334

Bear See: Tu-95 Bear (Soviet Bomber)

Beardall, Rear Admiral John R. Jr., USN (USNA, 1941) In the mid-1960s served as chief of staff to Commander Sixth Fleet, 416-417

Beaumont, Arthur In the 1930s this artist was a prolific painter of U.S. Navy ships, 86-87

Begg, Major Charles, USA In 1945 commanded the First Ordnance Squadron, which assembled atomic bomb components on Tinian, 163

Beirut, Lebanon In the mid-1960s, the Sixth Fleet flagship, the guided missile cruiser Springfield (CLG-7), visited, 398-399

Belgium In 1966 President Charles de Gaulle forced the military part of NATO to leave France, so headquarters moved to Belgium, as did the headquarters of the U.S. European Command, 397, 401

Beppu, Japan Visited by the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34) in the early 1960s, 378

Berlin, Germany Midshipman visited the city in the summer of 1930, and Ashworth went back in 1964, 28, 387

Beser, First Lieutenant Jacob, USA Electronic specialist on the atomic bomb mission that hit Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 184

Betty (Japanese Torpedo Plane) See: G4M Betty (Japanese Torpedo Plane)

Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands Site of Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests in July 1946, 161-162, 220-227

Blanchard, Colonel William H., USAAF (USMA, 1938) In 1945 was operations officer for 21st Bomber Command, 211

Blandy, Vice Admiral William H. P., USN (USNA, 1913) In the immediate postwar period served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Special Weapons), 217-218, 227 Commanded the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, 161-162, 220, 225, 227

Blenman, Captain Charles Jr., USN (USNA, 1934) In the early 1960s commanded the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 298-299

Bock, Captain Frederick C., USAAF Piloted a B-29 with monitoring instruments during the Nagasaki atomic bomb mission in 1945, 183, 193, 210, 212

Bockscar B-29 that bombed Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 101, 152, 174, 178-200, 207-216

Boeing Corporation In the early 1960s lost the competition to build the F-111 fighter, 251-252, 271-272, 359-360, 363-364 After retirement Admiral James S. Russell was a consultant to the corporation, 270-271

Bohlen, Charles E. In 1966, as U.S. ambassador to France, was consulted about relocating the Sixth Fleet flagship from France to Italy, 401, 422-423

Bombs/Bombing Practice by the SBU dive-bombers of Scouting Squadron Two/Three in 1936-37, 77-78, 80-81, 85 Early in World War II the Navy ceded horizontal bombing to the Army Air Forces, 100, 106 Improved capability when the SBD Dauntless joined the fleet in 1941, 78 Development of production for the Norden bombsight in the early 1940s, 99 Use of the Norden bombsight in World War II, 106 In 1943 TBF Avengers of Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), based at Guadalcanal, bombed the northern Solomons, 106-115 Japanese “Betty” bombers were unsuccessful in trying to make a torpedo attack on U.S. amphibious forces in the Gilberts in 1943, 129 Carrier plane attacks in the Marshall Islands in early 1944, 132 Testing of the Norden bombsight in 1944, 137 B-29 missions that bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 101, 147-149, 152, 155-158, 163-169, 172, 175-200, 207-216 Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946, 161-162, 220-227 Operations of Composite Squadron Five (VC-5) and Composite Squadron Six (VC-6) in nuclear weapons capability in the late 1940s-early 1950s, 239-247 In the early 1950s Los Alamos developed smaller nuclear bombs, to be carried by smaller aircraft than previous ones, 248

Booth, Captain Charles Thomas II, USN (USNA, 1931) Put the aircraft carrier Ranger (CVA-61) in commission in 1957 as first commanding officer, 59

Bougainville Attacks on Japanese ships in the vicinity in 1943 by TBF Avengers of Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), 113-117 Mine-laying in the vicinity by VT-11 in 1943, 115-116

Bourguiba, Habib As President of Tunisia, met with Commander Sixth Fleet, Ashworth, in the mid- 1960s, 399

Bradbury, Commander Norris E., USNR Served at the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia, during World War II, 137, 145 As director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1945 to 1970, 137, 248 Served in the mid-1950s on an advisory board for Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 272-273 After retirement served as a consultant to the Los Alamos laboratory, 270

Bramble, Dr. Charles Professor who taught at the Naval Postgraduate School in the late 1930s-early 1940s, 96-98 Served at the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia, during World War II, 137

Brereton, Lieutenant General Lewis H., USAAF (USNA, 1911) In 1946 briefly chaired the Military Liaison Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission, 218-219

Brown, Vice Admiral Charles R., USN (USNA, 1921) Commanded the Sixth Fleet in the mid-1950s, 48-49, 243, 250, 260, 263-264, 312-318, 322, 324, 376, 412

Budgetary Considerations/Issues Only half of the Naval Academy class of 1933 graduated on time because of budget problems, 13, 29-31 Funding in the mid-1950s for the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, a facility that supported the Bureau of Ordnance, 302-303 Budget office of OP-07, Navy research and development, in 1960, 339 Budget office of the Bureau of Naval Weapons in the early 1960s, 339

Bulkeley, Rear Admiral John D., USN (USNA, 1933) Did well as a naval officer, despite his low standing as a midshipman, 36 In 1966-67 commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Eight, 410

Bureau of Aeronautics Role in aircraft and missile development over the years, 296-298 In 1959 merged with the Bureau of Ordnance to become the new Bureau of Naval Weapons, 353-354

Bureau of Naval Weapons Created in 1959 by the merger of the Bureau of Aeronautics and the Bureau of Ordnance, 353-357, 362-363 Activities from 1961 to 1963, 353-371 Air Force-Navy tug of war on avionics in the early 1960s, 305 Involvement in the TFX/F-111 issue in the early 1960s, 251-252, 358-360, 363-367 Concept development in the early 1960s for Captor, a mine that would contain an encapsulated torpedo, 368-369

Bureau of Ordnance Development of production for the Norden bombsight in the early 1940s, 99 In the early 1940s worked on a director for aerial torpedoes, 100-102 Parent organization in the mid-1950s for the Naval Ordnance Test Station China Lake and other laboratories, 273, 294-297, 302-302 In 1959 merged with the Bureau of Aeronautics to become the new Bureau of Naval Weapons, 353-354

Burke, Admiral Arleigh A., USN (USNA, 1923) As Chief of Naval Operations in the late 1950s was a proponent of the Polaris ballistic missile system, 340

Canada In 1960 the aircraft carrier Essex (CVS-9) damaged a small building on a pier in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 347

Cannes, France The aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) visited at Christmas 1957, 323-324

Canton Island Stopover point in 1943 when Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) headed for Guadalcanal, 118-119

Captor Concept development in the early 1960s for a mine that would contain an encapsulated torpedo, 368

Carpenter, Donald F. In 1946, became the first civilian chairman of the Military Liaison Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission, 219

Carr, Lieutenant Commander T DeWitt, USN (USNA, 1916) Chief engineer and athletic officer of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 55

Carrier Aircraft Service Units (CASU) Support of Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) in 1942-43 at North Island and Guadalcanal, 108-110

Carrier Division One Operations in 1963-64 in the Pacific, 32, 264-265, 373-383

Carrier Division 18 Flagship in the early 1960s was the aircraft carrier Essex (CVS-9), 60, 79, 264, 342-352 Participated in a NATO exercise in 1960, 79 Participated in CENTO antisubmarine exercise MidLink in the early 1960s, 60, 343, 345-346, 348-351 Maneuvering of the task group, 264, 345 Antisubmarine exercise in the Mediterranean in 1960, 350-351

Carroll, Rear Admiral Eugene J. Jr., USN (Ret.) In 1971 co-founded the Center for Defense Information, 410

Center for Defense Information In 1971 was co-founded by Rear Admiral Gene La Rocque and Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll, 410

Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) Antisubmarine exercise MidLink in the early 1960s, 60, 343, 345-346, 348-351

Chenault, Commander Frederic A., USN (USNA, 1936) Executive officer of the battleship New Jersey (BB-62) in the early 1950s, 300 In the mid-1950s served as executive officer of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake and later worked there as a civilian, 299-301

Cheshire, Group Captain Leonard, Royal Air Force Served as an observer during the atomic bomb mission against Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945, 176

Civil War Ashworth’s ancestors fought in the American Civil War in the 1860s, 2

Clarey, Admiral Bernard A., USN (USNA, 1934) Served in the late 1960s as Vice Chief of Naval Operations, 431

Classen, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J., USAAF Bomber pilot whom Ashworth believed would have been a solid choice for the second atomic bomb mission in 1945, 215

Clifton, Commander Joseph C., USN (USNA, 1930) Commanded the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the early 1950s, 280

Collisions The destroyer O’Hare (DD-889) collided with the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) while trying to make approaches in the late 1950s, 263-264

Commercial Aircraft DC-2 Cross-country flight from San Francisco to Boston in 1935, 63

Communications Monitoring of Soviet communications in 1963-64 by the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34), 320-321, 374-375 Ashworth’s perception of poor communication during a U.S. Army field exercise in Germany in the mid-1960s, 386-387

Composite Squadron Five (VC-5) In the late 1940s was established to give the Navy an atomic weapons capability, 71, 230, 239-252 Planes lost and people killed in AJ Savage accidents, early 1950s, 241-242 Top-heavy rank structure when the squadron was formed, 244

Composite Squadron Six (VC-6) In 1950 flew the AJ Savage, a carrier-based aircraft with nuclear weapon capability, 241, 243-244, 249

Congress, U.S. In 1946 passed the Atomic Energy Act, which established the Atomic Energy Commission, 218 In the postwar period Ashworth testified before Congress in a request for an appropriation for the staff of the Military Liaison Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission, 276 Investigation in the early 1960s about the award of the TFX/F-111 contract to General Dynamics, 359-360, 363-367, 373 Testimony by Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly that killed the Navy version of the F-111, 361

Connolly, Vice Admiral Thomas F., USN (USNA, 1933) In the early 1960s was involved with nuclear weapons planning in the OP-06 organization of OpNav, 338, 340 Served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) in the late 1960s when the F-111B was cancelled, 251, 361

Cooney, Commander David M., USN Served in the mid-1960s as public affairs officer on the Sixth Fleet staff, 317

Corfu Island Change-of-command site for the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in 1957, 310

Corson, USS (AVP-37) Operations in the Pacific in the mid-1950s, 260-261, 278-291 Enlisted crew members, 280-284 Did not operate seaplanes during Ashworth’s tenure in command, though it had to demonstrate the capability to do so, 278-279 Visit from a retired vice admiral selling insurance, 271 Use of radar for navigation, 280 Ship handling in the mid-1950s, 280-281, 290 Diesel propulsion plant, 281 Served as station ship in Hong Kong, 283-285 In the mid-1950s the executive officer was relieved for cause, 285

Cox, Lieutenant Lyle, USN In the late 1940s flew as part of Composite Squadron Five (VC-5), then left the Navy, 245, 249

Craig, Rear Admiral Kenneth, USN (USNA, 1926) Commanded the aircraft carrier Midway (CVB-41) in 1951-52, 256, 259-260 Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel in the mid-1950s, 257-258, 327

Crommelin, Captain John G. Jr., USN (USNA, 1923) Survived the sinking of the escort carrier Liscome Bay (CVE-56) in November 1943, 130

Crommelin, Commander Quentin C., USN (USNA, 1941) Commanded Air Group 17 on board the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in 1957, 318

Crossroads, Operation Joint Task Force One atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946, 161-162, 220-227

Cuba In early 1939 the U.S. Fleet gathered at Guantánamo Bay for exercises, 93-94

Cuban Missile Crisis Events in Washington during the crisis in the autumn of 1962, 353

Dahlgren, Virginia, Naval Weapons Center Benefited in the 1960s from the services of civilian Bernard Smith, 300

Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire Curriculum in 1928-29, 4, 7, 10-13, 21-22

Defense Language Institute School in Monterey, California, where Ashworth took a refresher course in French in 1964, 378-383

De Gaulle, General Charles As President of France in the early 1960s, 350, 381, 387-388 In 1966 forced the military part of NATO to leave France, so headquarters moved to Belgium, 397, 401

De Gaulle, Captain Philippe, French Navy Participated in an antisubmarine exercise in the Mediterranean in the early 1960s, 350

Dike, Sheldon Aeronautical engineer who worked on the Manhattan Project atomic bomb development in World War II, 158, 174

Dillen, Captain Roscoe F., USN (USNA, 1904) Commanded the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) from 1934 to 1936, 61, 64

Disciplinary Problems At the Naval Academy in the early 1930s, 39

Dooley, Major George E., USMC Commanded a TBF Avenger Squadron on Guadalcanal in late 1942, 120, 122

Doolittle, Lieutenant General James H. “Jimmy,” USAAF In August 1945 commanded the Eighth Air Force with headquarters at Okinawa, 193, 199, 213

Doyle, Rear Admiral Austin K., USN (USNA, 1920) Served in the early 1950s as Commander Carrier Division Four, 59, 258-259

Duerfeldt, Rear Admiral Clifford H., USN (USNA, 1926) In the late 1950s commanded a carrier division, 261, 264, 310, 312, 317-318, 323, 412

Dugger, Lieutenant Commander Greene W. Jr., USN (USNA, 1914) Navigator of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 52-53

Dupuy, Lieutenant Albert E., USN In the late 1930s was executive officer of Utility Squadron One (VJ-1), 73-74

Eisenhower, President Dwight D. (USMA, 1915) In 1958 awarded a gold medal to Dr. William B. McLean, technical director of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 301-303

Ellis, Vice Admiral William E., USN (USNA, 1930) Commanded the Sixth Fleet from June 1964 to May 1966, 393-394, 399, 416

Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands Site of Sandstone nuclear weapons tests in 1948, 266

Enlisted Personnel On board the battleship Utah (BB-31) in 1930, 41-42 The battleship West Virginia (BB-48) was in port at San Francisco in late 1933 when Prohibition was repealed and crew members returned to the ship drunk, 54 Swim team of enlisted crew members of the West Virginia in the mid-1930s, 55-56 Crew members of the aircraft carrier Midway (CVB-41) in 1951, 259 Crew members of the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 280-284 Sharp enlisted men on board a nuclear submarine at Kings Bay, Georgia, around 1990, 54

Enola Gay B-52 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan in August 1945, 169, 172, 176

Ensey, Rear Admiral Lot, USN (USNA, 1930) Served as Ashworth’s first classman in 1929-30, 26, 32 In the late 1950s was chief of staff to Commander Sixth Fleet, 318 In the 1963, as Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Nine, reported to Ashworth, 32

Espionage British scientist Klaus Fuchs stole U.S. atomic secrets from Los Alamos lab during World War II, 281, 274

Essex, USS (CVS-9) Flagship of Commander Carrier Division 18 during the early 1960s, 60, 342-352 In 1969 damaged a small building on a pier in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 347

European Command, U.S. In the mid-1960s operated from headquarters in Saint Germaine-en-Laye, outside of Paris, 384-391 In 1966 President Charles de Gaulle forced the military part of NATO to leave France, so headquarters moved to Belgium, as did the headquarters of the U.S. European Command, 397, 401

F-3 Demon Operated from the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34) in 1963, 374-375

F-4 Phantom Operated from the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34) in 1963, 374-375

F4B Boeing-built biplane used for flight training at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 69-70

F6F Hellcat Drone version used as a target for Sidewinder tests in the mid-1950s, 304

F9F Cougar Used in the mid-1950s for testing Sidewinder missiles at Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 296-297, 304, 307, 377

F-111 Squabble in the early 1960s over the plane’s characteristics and manufacturer, 251-252, 358-360

Fairless, Lieutenant Commander Clyde Jr., Medical Corps, USN Composite Squadron Five (VC-5) flight surgeon killed in the crash of an AJ Savage in March 1951, 242

Families of Service Personnel Difficult to keep up with moves, leaving old friends, making new ones, long separations, 330 Family housing is often difficult to find and even primitive when relocating, particularly to Los Alamos during World War II, 331 In tours of sea duty for Ashworth in the early 1960s, he was separated from his family, 330-331, 342-343 Government-provided living quarters often left much to be desired, 331-332

Farrell, Brigadier General Thomas, USA Served as deputy to Major General Leslie Groves on the 1945 atomic bomb project, 164, 170-171, 173, 175, 177, 193-194, 200-201, 203, 210

Fechteler, Admiral William M., USN (Ret.) (USNA, 1916) In the late 1950s, after retiring from active duty, was a consultant for General Electric, 271

Fire Control Mark 1 range keeper in the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 58 Gunnery practice spotting aerial photography by Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) in the late 1930s, 73-75, 89-90 In the early 1940s the Bureau of Ordnance worked on a director for aerial torpedoes, 100

Fiji Islands Stopover point in 1943 when Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) headed for Guadalcanal, 119

Fleming, Commander Allan F., USN (USNA, 1936) Commanded Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Four (VX-4) in the early 1950s, 253

Flight Training Various squadrons in the syllabus at Pensacola in 1935-36, 66

Flynn, Lieutenant Mike, USNR In 1942 joined Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) and carried out a variety of functions before being killed in a plane crash in June 1943, 108-109, 119, 121

Folk, Lieutenant (junior grade) Winston P., USN (USNA, 1923) As a duty officer at the Naval Academy in the early 1930s, 39

Forrestal, James V. As Secretary of Defense, 1947-49, 230

Forrestal, USS (CVA-59) Suffered a disastrous fire in July 1967, 431-432

Fowler, Rear Admiral Richard L., USN (USNA, 1936) In 1959-60 commanded the aircraft carrier Essex (CVS-9), later killed in a house fire at Great Lakes, 346-347

France Homeport for the U.S. Mediterranean Squadron in the 1880s, 397 The aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) visited Cannes at Christmas 1957, 323-324 In the mid-1960s the Ashworths lived in a French neighborhood, 384-385, 388-389 French people in the south of the country were friendlier to Americans than those around Paris, 389-390 A pickpocket relieved Ashworth of his wallet in the Paris Metro, 389-390 Until her transfer to Italy in early 1967, the guided missile cruiser Springfield (CLG-7), Sixth Fleet flagship, was home-ported in Villefranche, France, 393, 397-404 In 1966 President Charles De Gaulle forced the military part of NATO to leave France, 397

Frank, Lieutenant Nickolas J. Jr., USN (USNA, 1929) In 1942 was officer in charge of torpedo school at San Diego, 105

Franklin D. Roosevelt, USS (CVA-42) Deployment to the Sixth Fleet in the late 1950s, 48-49, 257, 261-262 Collided with the destroyer O’Hare (DD-889) in the late 1950s, 263-264 Low-visibility navigation in the late 1950s, 49 Ship handling in the late 1950s, 261-264, 310 Detachment of A3D Skywarriors on board in the late 1950s, 244, 311, 313-314, 319-320 In the late 1950s the supply officer was relieved for cause, 285 Operations in the Mediterranean in the late 1950s, 309-327 Nuclear weapons capability in the late 1950s, 316-317 Replenishment at sea in the late 1950s, 411 Transit up the East River to the New York Naval Shipyard in 1958, 326-328

French Navy Participated in an antisubmarine exercise in the Mediterranean in the early 1960s, 350-351

Fuchs, Klaus British scientist who stole U.S. atomic secrets from Los Alamos lab during World War II, 281, 274

G4M Betty (Japanese Torpedo Bomber) Japanese Betty bombers were unsuccessful in trying to make a torpedo attack on U.S. amphibious forces in the Gilberts in 1943, 129

Gaeta, Italy In 1967, after France withdrew from the military portion of NATO, the homeport of the Sixth Fleet flagship moved to Gaeta, 401-404, 420

Gay, Ensign George H., USNR Role in the Battle of Midway in June 1942 and on a publicity tour afterward, 104-105 In the summer of 1942 joined Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), 106

General Dynamics Corporation In the early 1960s won the contract to build the TFX/F-111 fighter, 251-252, 359-360, 363-367

Germany Midshipmen visited Berlin in the summer of 1930, and Ashworth went back in 1964, 28, 387 At the end of World War II, in the ALSOS Mission, U.S. officers visited France and Germany to ascertain German technical developments during the war, 275 U.S. Army field exercises in Germany in the mid-1960s, 386-387

Gilbert Islands Amphibious assault in November 1943, 126, 128-129 Japanese “Betty” bombers attacked U.S. amphibious forces in the Gilberts in 1943, 129

Gillon, Lieutenant Commander John F., USN (USNA, 1920) In the late 1930s commanded Squadron Two/Three, (VS-2/VS-3), 64, 80 Killed in a plane crash in March 1937, 64, 80

Goodwin, Rear Admiral Hugh S., USN (USNA, 1922) Served as Commander U.S. Naval Forces Philippines in the mid-1950s, 286

Great Artiste, The B-29 bomber that was an observation plane for the U.S. atomic bomb missions in August 1945, 177, 212, 215

Great Britain Development for a machine gun sight used in World War II, 99

Greece The aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) visited Salonika in the late 1950s, 49, 324-325 The Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Rhodes in the late 1950s, 315-316

Greek Navy In the mid-1960s its officers were advised not to visit U.S. Navy ships, 47, 400

Greenman, Captain William G., USN (USNA, 1912) Battalion officer at the Naval Academy in the early 1930s, 43 Commanding officer of the cruiser Astoria (CA-34) when she was sunk in 1942, 43

Griffin, Admiral Charles Donald, USN (USNA, 1927) Served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Fleet Operations and Readiness) in 1962-63, 333 As Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe, 1965-68, 333-334, 413

Groves, Major General Leslie R., USA (USMA, 1918) Headed the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb in 1944-45, 143-145, 147, 154-157, 159-160, 166-167, 194, 200-202, 209, 213-214, 274 Comparison with the Navy’s Admiral Hyman Rickover, 159-160, 273-274 In the postwar period headed the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, 219, 268 Communication with Ashworth in the mid-1960s, 391-392

Guadalcanal Japanese gunnery sank the cruiser Astoria (CA-34) in August 1942, 43 In 1942-43 Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) was based at Henderson Field while conducting operations in the Solomons, 107-117 Nightly harassment by “Washing Machine Charley” Japanese aircraft, 111

Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Naval Base In early 1939 the U.S. Fleet gathered here for exercises, 93-94

Gunnery-Naval Early in the 20th century Commander William Sims pushed for improvements in U.S. Navy gunnery, 43 By the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 58 The light cruiser Marblehead (CL-12) suffered a turret casualty in 1936, 13 Gunnery practice spotting aerial photography by Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) in the late 1930s used color film to differentiate dye-loaded projectiles, 73-75, 89-91 In the late 1930s Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) towed target sleeves for antiair gunnery practice, 91 Japanese gunnery sank the cruiser Astoria (CA-34) in August 1942, 43 Battleship shore bombardment of Kwajalein in early 1944, 132

Halifax, Canada In 1960 the aircraft carrier Essex (CVS-9) damaged a small building on a pier in the port, 347

Halsey, Fleet Admiral William F., Jr., USN (Ret.) (USNA, 1904) In 1959 Ashworth escorted Halsey’s body to his funeral in Washington, 339

Hamilton, Admiral John G., Royal Navy In the mid-1960s served as the British Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet and NATO’s Commander Allied Forces Mediterranean, 413-414, 426-427

Hamilton, Lieutenant Commander Weldon L., USN (USNA, 1928) Served as Commander Air Group 11 from mid-1942 until he was killed in a plane crash on New Caledonia on 8 June 1943, 108-109, 119, 121-122

Hawaii Sortie of battleships from Pearl Harbor in the mid-1930s, 52, 61 Phil Ashworth was killed in a plane crash at Pearl Harbor in November 1938, leading to the establishment of a naval air station at Kaneohe Bay, 17, 83-84 Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, 102 In 1942 Barbers Point Naval Air Station became the training base for Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), 107-108

Hayward, Vice Admiral John T., USN (USNA, 1930) Served at the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, during atomic bomb development in 1944-45 After World War II was stationed with the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Sandia Base, New Mexico, 239-240 In the late 1940s commanded newly established Composite Squadron Five (VC-5), 71, 230-231, 240-250 Served in the early 1950s as part of the Military Applications Division of the Atomic Energy Commission, 270 Served 1959-61 as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Research and Development), OP-07, 334-337, 366 Hayworth, Rita Movie star jokingly referred to as an inspiration for the Fat Man atomic bomb because of her figure, 153-154

Hedrick, Captain David I., USN (USNA, 1909) Commanded the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia, during World War II, 137, 145

Heinemann, Edward H. Douglas Aircraft designer who served in the mid-1950s on an advisory board for Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 272-274 Inducted in the Naval Aviation Museum hall of fame, 368

Helou, Charles Lebanon President who had a visit from Ashworth in the mid-1960s, 398-399

Heyen, Lieutenant Commander Jerry, Royal Australian Naval Reserve Served on the staff of Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner during the invasion of Tarawa in November 1943, 128

Hill, Rear Admiral Harry W., USN (USNA, 1911) Commanded the amphibious assault on Tarawa in November 1943, 128 Commanded the amphibious assaults on Kwajalein and Eniwetok in 1944, 132, 135

Hill, Captain Tom B., USN (USNA, 1922) Served in 1945 as Pacific Fleet operations officer, 155-156 In the immediate postwar period served on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Special Weapons), 217, 220 After the 1946 Crossroads tests, served in the OpNav Office of Atomic Defense, 228

Hiroshima, Japan Hit by U.S. atomic bomb in August 1945, 145, 147, 169, 175-178, 183. 191

Hitchins, Commander William (USNA, 1939) Chief engineer of the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in the late 1950s, 261

Hollister, Captain William W., USN (USNA, 1931) In the 1950s commanded Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 298

Holloman, New Mexico, Air Force Base In 1954 was the site for high-speed testing by Major John Paul Stapp, 303

Holt, Chief Aviation Pilot Harry, USN In 1938 was in Texas after landing a JRS and learned that Philip Ashworth had been killed in a plane crash, 84 Holmes, Admiral Ephraim P., USN (USNA, 1930) Served as Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet, 1967-70, 429-436

Hong British Crown Colony In the mid-1950s the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) served as station ship, 283-285 Mary Soo and her side cleaners painted the hulls of visiting Navy ships in the mid- 1950s, 283-284

Hopkins, Captain Thomas Walton, USN (USNA, 1932) Commanded the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42), 1956-57, 310, 312-313, 320

Hulme, Lieutenant Commander John, USN (USNA, 1930) Became Commander Air Group 11 in 1943 when Lieutenant Commander Weldon Hamilton was killed, 119

Independence, USS (CVA-62) Operated as part of the Sixth Fleet in the mid-1960s, 411

Indianapolis, USS (CA-35) Cruiser that delivered atomic bomb components to Tinian in the summer of 1945, 166-167 Sunk by a Japanese submarine after the delivery, 167

Intelligence Monitoring of Soviet communications in 1963-64 by the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34), 320-321, 374-375 The National Security Agency provided detachments to aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean in 1966-67, 409

Italy In 1966, when he was Commander Sixth Fleet, Ashworth and his wife visited the country, 395-396 In early 1967, after France withdrew from the military portion of NATO, the homeport of the Sixth Fleet flagship moved to Gaeta, Italy, 401-404, 420

Iwakuni, Japan Visited by the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 290

Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands Possible refueling site for the B-29 atomic bomb mission against Japan on 9 August 1945, 178

JRS Sikorsky-built amphibian flown by Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) in the late 1930s, 73, 84, 91

Jaap, Commander Joseph A., USN (USNA, 1932) In the early 1950s commanded Composite Squadron Six (VC-6), 251 In the early 1960s headed the Atomic Energy Division, OP-76, in OpNav, 339

Jackson, Senator Henry M. (Democrat-Washington) Participation in congressional hearings in the 1960s on why the TFX/F111 contract was not awarded to Boeing, 367

Japan Hiroshima and Nagasaki were hit by U.S. atomic bombs in August 1945, 45, 101, 147-149, 152, 154, 175-200, 207-216 Visited by the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 290 Visited by the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34) in the early 1960s, 378-380

Japanese Navy Japanese gunnery sank the cruiser Astoria (CA-34) in August 1942, 43 Carrier aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, 102 Harassment by Japanese aircraft of Americans at Guadalcanal in 1943, 111 Japanese “Betty” bombers were unsuccessful in trying to make a torpedo attack on U.S. amphibious forces in the Gilberts in 1943, 129 Torpedoed and sank the escort carrier Liscome Bay (CVE-56) in November 1943, 129-130 Torpedoed and sank the cruiser Indianapolis (CA-35) in the summer of 1945, 167

Joint Task Force One Conducted the 1946 Operations Crossroads atom bomb tests at Bikini Atoll, 220-227

Jurika, Captain Stephen Jr., USN (Ret.) (USNA, 1933) Naval attaché in Japan before World War II, later taught at Stanford, 88

Kane, Captain John D. H. Jr., USN (USNA, 1942) Commanded the guided missile light cruiser Springfield (CLG-7) from August 1965 to December 1966, 406

Kaneohe, Hawaii, Naval Air Station Philip Ashworth was killed in a plane crash at Pearl Harbor in November 1938, leading to the establishment of a naval air station at Kaneohe Bay, 17, 83

Kaohsiung, Taiwan Visited by the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 287-288

Karachi, Pakistan Visited in the early 1960s by ships that participated in CENTO Exercise MidLink, 60, 343, 348-351

Kennedy, President John F. Actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, 353

Kerr, Captain Alex A., USN (USNA, 1945) In the early 1960s was staff attorney for the Secretary of the Navy, 252, 359-360

Khan, Vice Admiral Afzal Rahman, Pakistani Navy In 1960, as commander in chief of the Pakistani Navy, participated in CENTO Exercise MidLink, 343, 348-349

Kidd, Rear Admiral Isaac C. Jr. USN (USNA, 1942) In 1966, as executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, informed Ashworth that he would be getting command of the Sixth Fleet, 390, 393, 397 Headed the investigation after the destroyer Bache (DD-470) ran aground on rocks off the island of Rhodes in 1968 and was lost, 415

Kimble, Brigadier General Frederick V. H., USAAF Commanded the Army base at Tinian in 1945-46, 155-156

King, Chief Warrant Officer Cecil S. Jr., USN Served on board the aircraft carrier Midway (CVB-41) in the early 1950s and the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in the late 1950s, 325-326

King, Fleet Admiral Ernest J., USN (USNA, 1901) In February 1945 sent a letter to Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz to inform him of the development of the atomic bomb, 154-155

Kings Bay, Georgia, Submarine Base Veteran naval aviators were impressed by the quality of enlisted submariners at the base around 1990, 54

Kirkpatrick, Colonel Elmer E. Jr., USA (USMA, 1929) In 1945 supervised the construction of facilities on Tinian to accommodate the atomic bomb project, 156, 202

Kirn, Captain Louis J., USN (USNA, 1932) Commanded the aircraft carrier Randolph (CVA-15) in 1957-58, 314

Kistiakowsky, Dr. George Took part in the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb in 1944-45, 149

Kivette, Captain Frederick N., USN (USNA, 1925) Commanded the aircraft carrier Midway (CVB-41) in 1950-51, 256 Service in OpNav in the late 1950s, 329

Kokura, Japan Was planned as the secondary target for the atomic bomb mission of 6 August 1945, 176-177 Planned as the primary target for the atomic bomb mission of 9 August 1945, 182-184, 210, 212-213, 215

Koch, Rear Admiral George P., USN (USNA, 1933) In 1965-66 commanded Carrier Division Six in the Mediterranean, 411

Korth, Fred S. As Secretary of the Navy in the early 1960s, 364

Kure, Japan Visited by the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 290

Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands U.S. amphibious assault and capture of in early 1944, 132-133

Lamar, Captain Howell A., USNR In World War II served as aide to Admiral Chester Nimitz, 154-155

Landing Signal Officers Value on board the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-3) in the late 1930s, 79

La Rocque, Rear Admiral Gene R., USN (Ret.) From 1965 to 1967 commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 12, 409-410 After retirement from active duty, co-founded the Center for Defense Information, 410

Leave and Liberty For Naval Academy midshipmen in Europe in the summer of 1930, 1, 28 The battleship West Virginia (BB-48) was in port at San Francisco in late 1933 when Prohibition was repealed and crew members returned to the ship drunk, 54 Rest and recreation trip to Australia by Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) during World War II, 109-110 In Hong Kong for the crew of the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 283-285

Lebanon In the mid-1960s, the Sixth Fleet flagship, the guided missile cruiser Springfield (CLG-7), visited Beirut, 398-399

Leith, Captain Stanley, USN (USNA, 1923) Served as operations officer on the staff of Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner in 1943-44, 131, 133

LeMay, Major General Curtis E., USA In World War II headed the 21st Bomber Command, based in Guam, 157, 168-169, 176, 211 As Air Force Chief of Staff in the early 1960s, advice on the TFX/F-111, 358-359, 364

Lemnitzer, General Lyman L., USA (USMA, 1920) Served 1963-69 as Commander in Chief U.S. Forces Europe, 385-386

Leverett, Lieutenant (junior grade) Travis R., USN (USNA, 1932) In the mid-1930s served in Scouting Squadron Two/Three (VS-2/VS-3), 82

Lewis, Captain Robert A., USAAF Copilot of the B-29 that bombed Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945, 176-177

Liberty, USS (AGTR-5) Heavily attacked by Israeli forces during the Six-Day War in June 1967, 317, 414- 415, 420

Liscome Bay, USS (CVE-56) Torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine in November 1943, 129-130

Little Rock, USS (CLG-4) In May 1967 became flagship for Commander Sixth Fleet, 405-408, 417-418

Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico Development base for atomic bombs in 1944-45, 143-161, 209, 218, 274 Substandard base housing for people who served there in World War II, 331-332 British scientist Klaus Fuchs stole U.S. atomic secrets from Los Alamos lab during World War II, 281, 274 In the early 1950s developed smaller nuclear bombs, to be carried by smaller aircraft than previous ones, 248, 269 After retirement Norris Bradbury served as a consultant to the laboratory, 270 Houses for families of those stationed there, 331 Development of the warhead for the Polaris missile system in the late 1950s, 337-338

Makin, Gilbert Islands Amphibious assault by U.S. forces in November 1943, 126, 128, 136

Malstrom, Lieutenant Alvin I., USN (USNA, 1922) Served as exec and skipper of Scouting Squadron Three (VS-3) in the late 1930s, 64, 81-83

Malta Sought unsuccessfully to become homeport for the Sixth Fleet flagship in 1966, 401

Mandelkorn, Rear Admiral Richard S., USN (Ret.) (USNA, 1932) Settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after retirement from active duty, 440

Manhattan Project Developed the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1944-45, 142-166

Marblehead, USS (CL-12) Suffered a turret casualty in 1936, 13

Marine Corps, U.S. Detachment on board the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 61-62 Amphibious assault on Tarawa in November 1943, 128-129 Amphibious assault on Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands in early 1944, 132

Marshall Islands Amphibious assault and capture of Kwajalein and Roi-Namur in early 1944, 132-133 Bikini Atoll was the site of Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests in July 1946, 161-162, 220-227 Eniwetok Atoll was the site of Sandstone nuclear weapons tests in 1948, 266

Martell, Rear Admiral Charles B., USN (USNA, 1930) In the late 1950s did a study that led to the creation of the Bureau of Naval Weapons, 354, 362-363

Martin, Vice Admiral William I., USN (USNA, 1934) Became Commander Sixth Fleet in April 1967 in Gaeta, Italy, 405-406, 411 Actions when the intelligence ship Liberty (AGTR-5) was attacked by Israeli forces in June 1967, 317, 414-415, 420

Maryland, USS (BB-46) In the 1930s Ashworth bought an Arthur Beaumont painting of this ship and kept it for more than 50 years, 86-87

Mason, Commander Charles P., USN (USNA, 1912) Served as executive officer of the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-3) in the late 1930s, 79

Massey, Lieutenant (junior grade) Lance E., USN (USNA, 1930) Successful flight instructor at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 67-68, 70 Effective as an aircraft carrier landing signal officer, 79 Killed in the Battle of Midway, June 1942, 68, 85

Masterton, Vice Admiral Paul, USN (USNA, 1933) In the early 1960s was Commander Carrier Division One when the Naval Tactical Data System was being tested on board the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34), 374

Mastick, Ensign Donald, USNR Part of the atomic bomb technical team on Tinian in the summer of 1945, 165

McCain, Vice Admiral John S., USN (USNA, 1906) In 1944-45 commanded the fast carrier task force in the Pacific, 130-131

McClellan, John L. (Democrat-Arkansas) Involved in the congressional hearings in the early 1960s on the award of the TFX/F-111 contract to General Dynamics, 363, 367, 373

McDonald, Admiral David L., USN (USNA, 1928) In early 1967, as Chief of Naval Operations, informed Ashworth that he would be relocated to Atlantic Fleet headquarters, 404-405, 428 Reaction to the Israeli attack on the intelligence ship Liberty (AGTR-5) in June 1967, 317

McLean, Dr. William B. In the mid-1950s was technical director of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 294-301, 304 Received a gold medal from President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958, 301

McMorris, Vice Admiral Charles H., USN (USNA, 1912) In 1945 served as chief of staff to Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, 155

McNamara, Robert S. Involvement in the TFX/F-111 issue as Secretary of Defense in the 1960s, 251-252, 358-360, 363-367, 373, 397 Effect of the systems analysis “Whiz Kids” who worked for him was to slow development, 305, 361-362 Actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, 353 In 1966 approved the move of the Sixth Fleet flagship to Gaeta, Italy, 402-403

Medical Problems In early 1945 son David Ashworth had a case of pneumonia, 332 Commander William Moran’s eye was injured while stationed at China Lake in the mid-1950s, but he was able to remain in the Navy, 257-258 After retirement Ashworth needed heart bypass surgery and repair of an aortic aneurism, 449, 454-455, 459

Metzger, Rear Admiral Edward F., Supply Corps, USN ((USNA, 1933) Did well as a naval officer, despite his low standing as a midshipman, 36

Michelangeli, Admiral, Italian Navy As chief of the Italian Navy in 1966, suggested Gaeta as homeport for the Sixth Fleert flagship, 401-402, 420

MidLink, Exercise CENTO antisubmarine exercise in the early 1960s, 60, 343, 345-346, 348-351

Midway, Battle of (June 1942) Performance of U.S. torpedo planes in the battle, 103-104

Midway, USS (CVB-41) In the late 1940s launched P2V Neptunes for long-distance simulated nuclear weapons delivery missions, 249 Ashworth’s emphasis on cleanliness while serving as exec in 1951, 59, 256-256 Yard period at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in early 1951, 256, 259-260 Operations in 1951, 255-259 Ship handing in 1951, 256, 260-261 Disciplinary matters in 1951, 259 Enlisted crew members, 259

Military Assistance Advisory Groups (MAAGs) Role within the U.S. European Command in the mid-1960s, 386

Military Liaison Committee Created in 1946 as a link between the Atomic Energy Commission and the armed forces, 218-219, 228-229, 231, 275

Mine Warfare Early in World War II Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) laid mines near Bougainville, 109, 115-116, 369 Concept development in the early 1960s for Captor, a mine that would contain an encapsulated torpedo, 368

Missiles Sidewinder was developed and tested at Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, in the 1950s, 294-297, 303-305, 307 Sparrow was developed in the 1950s by the Bureau of Aeronautics as an air-to-air weapon, 298 Development of the Polaris missile system in the late 1950s, 337-338 The emergence of missiles was a factor in the creation of the Bureau of Naval Weapons in 1959, 353-354

Mitscher, Rear Admiral Marc A., USN (USNA, 1910) In the 1930s was pushing for innovation in naval aviation, 43 During World War II commanded naval aircraft in the Solomons, 109-113, 369 In 1944-45 commanded the fast carrier task force in the Pacific, 130-133

Moffett Field Naval Air Station, Sunnyvale, California Home base for Composite Squadron Five (VC-5) in the late 1940s, 231, 248, 252-253

Momyer, General William W., USAF As head of the Tactical Air Command in the early 1960s, advice on the TFX/F-111, 364

Moorer, Rear Admiral Thomas H., USN (USNA, 1933) In the late 1930s had navigation problems during a cross-country ferry flight, 93 Served 1959-60 as Commander Carrier Division Six, 79, 343-344, 347-348 Served in the mid-1960s as Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet, 416, 429 As Chief of Naval Operations, 1967-70, 430, 437

Moran, Commander William J., USN His eye was injured while stationed at China Lake in the mid-1950s, but he was able to remain in the Navy, 257-258

Morrow, Colonel Guy M., USMC (USNA, 1933) Entering the Naval Academy at an advanced age may have hampered his overall career development, 37

Mullinnix, Rear Admiral Henry M., USN (USNA, 1916) Killed in the sinking of the escort carrier Liscome Bay (CVE-56) in November 1943, 130

Munda, New Georgia Bombed by TBF Avengers of Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) in 1942, 112

Murphy, Captain Joseph N., USN (USNA, 1927) In the late 1940s, while assigned to the Bureau of Aeronautics, was involved in the development of a nuclear-capable carrier plane, the AJ Savage, 231

Muskie, Edmund S. (Democrat-Maine) Involved in the congressional hearings in the early 1960s on the award of the TFX/F-111 contract to General Dynamics, 367

NK Keystone-built biplane used for flight training at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 67

NS Stearman-built biplane used for flight training at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 67-68, 70

NY Consolidated-built biplane used for flight training at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 66-67

Nagasaki, Japan Hit by U.S. atomic bomb in August 1945, 45, 101, 145, 148, 152, 168, 181-200, 207-216 Ashworth carried a Colt .45 pistol on the mission, 53-54

National Security Agency In 1963 a detachment on board the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34) monitored voice communications between Soviet Bear bombers, 320-321, 374-375 Provided detachments to aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean in 1966-67, 409

Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland Application process for prospective midshipmen in the late 1920s, 11, 13, 24 Plebe summer in 1929, 24, 26-27, 31-32 Hazing, 26-27 Summer training cruises in the early 1930s, 1, 12, 27-29, 40-44 Aviation indoctrination in the summer of 1931, 28, 34 Academics and professional subjects in the early 1930s, 12-13, 22, 27, 28, 34-36 Athletics in the early 1930s, 27-28, 34-35, 37-38 Extracurricular activities in the early 1930s, 39 Disciplinary matters, 39 Only half of the class of 1933 graduated on time because of budget problems, 13, 29-31 Curriculum review board in 1958, 32-33

Naval Air Development Center, Johnsville, Pennsylvania Role in the early 1960s under the Bureau of Naval Weapons, 356

Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland In the early 1950s did service tests on the AJ Savage, 253

Naval Gun Factory, Washington, D.C. Work on production of the Norden bombsight in the early 1940s, 99

Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake Test and construction work involved with the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb in 1944-45, 152, 161, 166 Change of command in June 1955, 293 Test work in the mid-1950s, 257, 294-304, 356 Work of an advisory board to the station, 272-273 Competition in the mid-1950s against the Point Mugu missile test center, 297-298 Quality of civil servants at the station in the mid-1950s, 301-302 Recruiting process for civilian employees, 302 Funding for test programs, 302-303 Feedback from the active fleet, 303 Work on aircraft ejection seats, 303 Torpedo experiments in the mid-1950s at the Pasadena annex, 306-307

Naval Postgraduate School, Annapolis, Maryland Course in aviation ordnance engineering, 1939-42, 96-99 In the late 1930s-early 1940s many of the students had finished near the top of their Naval Academy classes, 96

Naval Reserve, U.S. During World War II a number of “90-day wonders” were commissioned, 108 Captain David Ashworth flew the A-7 Corsair II on active duty and as a reservist, 80

Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) In the early 1960s the Oriskany (CVA-34) was the first aircraft carrier to be equipped with the system, 374, 374, 383

Navigation Of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 51-52 Air navigation by the planes of Scouting Squadron Two/Three (VS-2/VS-3) in the late 1930s, 81 In the late 1930s Lieutenant (j.g.) Thomas Moorer had navigation problems during a cross-country aircraft ferry flight, 93 Use of radar for navigation by the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 279-280 Low-visibility radar navigation by the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in the late 1950s, 49, 324-325

Needham, Captain Ray C. “Bud,” USN (USNA, 1931) As detail officer in the Bureau of Naval Personnel in the early 1950s, 255 Chief of staff to Commander Carrier Division Two in the late 1950s, 312

Nevada, USS (BB-36) Target ship for the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, 222-223, 227

New Caledonia In the early 1940s an R4D Skytrain transport plane crashed at Tontouta and killed all on board, 108-109

New Georgia TBF Avengers of Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) bombed Munda in 1943, 112 New York City Battleships of the U.S. Fleet visited the city in 1934, 42, 52, 58 Transit by the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) up the East River to the New York Naval Shipyard in 1958, 326-328

Nichols, Major General Kenneth D., USA While at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in World War II, helped develop nuclear material for atomic bombs, 159, 201 Commanded the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, 1948-51, 231

Night Operations For Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) in 1942-43, both in training and action, 107-112, 115-116, 118, 121 Japanese Betty bombers attacked U.S. amphibious forces in the Gilberts in 1943, 129 On board the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in 1957, 313-314, 319-320

Nimitz, Fleet Admiral Chester W., USN (USNA, 1905) In early 1944 visited the Marshall Islands after the capture of Kwajalein, 133-135 In February 1945 received a top secret letter, delivered by Ashworth, on the existence of atomic bombs, 154-155 Served 1945-47 as Chief of Naval Operations, 228

Nitze, Paul H. As Secretary of the Navy, made the principal address when Ashworth took command of the Sixth Fleet in 1966, 46-48, 394, 399 Questioned Ashworth on his plans for the Sixth Fleet, 46-47, 345, 399-400, 431

Norden Bombsight Development work by the Bureau of Ordnance in the early 1940s for bombsight production, 98-99 Use of the bombsight in World War II, 101, 106, 183 Testing of bombsight in 1944 at the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia, 137 Use of in atomic bomb missions against Japan in August 1945, 183, 185, 210, 212

Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia Overhaul of the aircraft carrier Midway (CVB-41) in 1951, 256

Norstad, Major General Lauris, USAF (USMA, 1930) In May 1945 sent a message specifying crew makeup and responsibilities for B-29 atomic bomb missions, 157, 211

North American Aviation, Inc. In the late 1940s developed the AJ Savage, with nuclear weapons capability, 231, 242

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) In 1966 President Charles de Gaulle forced the military part of NATO to leave France, so headquarters moved to Belgium, as did the headquarters of the U.S. European Command, 397, 401 Impact of the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) on Sixth Fleet aircraft carriers in the 1950s and 1960s, 414-415 NATO concern about the operation of Soviet submarines in the Mediterranean, 1966-67, 413-414

North Island Naval Air Station, Coronado, California In the mid-1930s was the home base for Scouting Squadron Two/Three (VS-2/VS-3), 86 In the late 1930s was the home base for Utility Squadron One (VJ-1), 86, 89 In 1942 was the site of the Advanced Carrier Training Group and Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), 102-105, 118

Nuclear Power (Program) Interaction, 1958-60, between Admiral Hyman Rickover’s office and the research and development office of OpNav, 335-339

Nuclear Weapons Nuclear fission was discussed at the Naval Postgraduate School around 1940, 96-97 Manhattan Project developed the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1944-45, 142-162 British scientist Klaus Fuchs stole U.S. atomic secrets from Los Alamos lab during World War II, 281, 274 Test of the Fat Man atomic bomb at Alamogordo, New Mexico, in the summer of 1945, 163, 166, 169 The Little Boy Hiroshima atomic bomb was armed in the air for safety reasons, 158, 177 Missions that attacked Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 45, 101, 145, 152, 155-158, 163-169, 175-200, 207-216 At the end of World War II, in the ALSOS Mission, U.S. officers visited France and Germany to ascertain German technical developments during the war, 275 Acheson-Lilienthal Plan was an unsuccessful postwar attempt to put nuclear programs under international control, 218 Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, 161-162, 220-227 After Crossroads the Office of Atomic Defense was created in OpNav, 228-229 Development of new weapons in the late 1940s, 275-276 Eniwetok Atoll was the site of Sandstone nuclear weapons tests in 1948, 266 Establishment in the late 1940s of an atomic weapons capability for the Navy, 230 Operations of Composite Squadron Five (VC-5) and Composite Squadron Six (VC-6) in the late 1940s-early 1950s, 239-247 In the early 1950s Los Alamos developed smaller nuclear bombs, to be carried by smaller aircraft than previous ones, 248, 269 Role of the Military Applications Division of the Atomic Energy Commission, 1952-54, 266-269 Nuclear weapons capability of the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in the late 1950s, 316-317 Development of the Polaris missile system in the late 1950s, 337-340 Impact of the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) on Sixth Fleet aircraft carriers in the 1950s and 1960s, 414-415

O2U Corsair Vought-built biplane used for flight training at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 68 Operated from the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-3) in the late 1930s, 79 Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) did ferry flights of O2Us in the late 1930s, 92

Ofstie, Rear Admiral Ralph K., USN (USNA, 1919) In 1946 was a member of the Military Liaison Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission, 218

O'Hare, USS (DD-889) In the late 1950s collided in the Mediterranean with the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42), 263-264

Okinawa, Ryukyus Islands Landing haven for the B-29 bomber Bockscar after she dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 186, 191, 199

Old, Lieutenant Francis P., USN (USNA, 1920) Served in the engineering department of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 55-56

Operations Evaluation Group During a Western Pacific deployment in 1963 evaluated the effectiveness of the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) on board the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34), 374, 376, 383

OpNav After Crossroads the Office of Atomic Defense was created, OP-36, 228-229 Work of the Atomic Energy Division in the late 1950s, 271 Role of the Atomic Energy Division, OP-76, from 1958 to 1960, 333-340

Oppenheimer, Dr. J. Robert Role in the development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1944- 45, 143, 146, 153, 160-161, 169, 199, 273-274 In the postwar period opposed the creation of a super bomb, 219 After hearings in 1954 lost his security clearance, 267-268

Oran, Algeria Site of the critique for a U.S.-French antisubmarine exercise in the early 1960s, 350- 351

Oriskany, USS (CVA-34) Served as flagship for Carrier Division One in the early 1960s, 265, 320-321, 373-383 First aircraft carrier to be equipped with the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS), 374, 376, 383 Overflown by Soviet Bear bombers in the early 1960s, 320-321, 374-375

Ortland, Henry As Naval Academy swimming coach in the early 1930s, 37-38

PBY Catalina PBYs operated as navigation aids for the TBF Avengers of Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) in 1943, 118-119

PD Douglas-built biplane used for flight training at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 69 Used for aerial photography by Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) in the late 1930s, 89-90

PM Martin-built biplane used for flight training at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 69 Used for aerial photography by Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) in the late 1930s, 89-90

P2V Neptune Flown by Composite Squadron Five (VC-5) in the late 1940s to give the Navy an atomic weapons capability, 71, 230-231, 245-250

P2Y Open-cockpit flying boat used for aviation indoctrination at the Naval Academy in the early 1930s, 34

P-3 Orion Antisubmarine plane that began operating from aircraft carriers in the early 1960s, 356

P-38 Mustang Operations from Guadalcanal in 1943, 111

Painting In the 1930s artist Arthur Beaumont was a prolific painter of U.S. Navy ships, 86-87

Pakistani Navy In 1960, participated in CENTO antisubmarine Exercise MidLink, 60, 343, 348-351 Panama Canal Large-scale U.S. Fleet transit through the canal in 1934, 62

Paris, France In the mid-1960s Ashworth found that French people in the south of the country were friendlier to Americans than those around Paris, 389-390 A pickpocket relieved Ashworth of his wallet in the Paris Metro in the late 1960s, 389-390

Parsons, Rear Admiral William Sterling, USN (USNA, 1922) Assigned to the Manhattan Project in 1944-45 for the development and delivery of the atomic bomb, 141-147, 149, 152, 154, 156-158, 161, 163-164, 169, 173, 175, 177, 179, 181, 183, 202-203, 210-211, 332 In the immediate postwar period served on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Special Weapons) and as a member of the Military Liaison Committee, 217-220 Deputy to Rear Admiral William Blandy for Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, 161-162, 220, 225-226 After the Bikini tests in 1946, served in the OpNav Office of Atomic Defense, 227-228, 230-231, 240, 243, 266 Service in the early 1950s, 295 In 1953 died of a heart attack at age 52, 161-162, 226

Partridge, Major General Earle E., USAAF (USMA, 1924) In August 1945 was deputy commander of the Eighth Air Force, 193

Pasadena, California Annex to the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, that did torpedo testing in the 1950s, 306-307

Patuxent River, Maryland, Naval Air Station In 1950 was the base for Composite Squadron Six (VC-6), 253

Pay and Allowances In the mid-1940s Ashworth had to give back some pay after his temporary promotion to captain was revoked, 229

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Sortie of battleships from Pearl Harbor in the mid-1930s, 52, 61 Phil Ashworth was killed in a plane crash at Pearl Harbor in November 1938, leading to the establishment of a naval air station at Kaneohe Bay, 17, 83-84 Japanese naval aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, 102

Penney, William British physicist who was involved in the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, 223 Pennsylvania, USS (BB-38) Served as flagship for Commander Fifth Amphibious Force in 1943, during the invasion of the Gilbert Islands, 126, 130

Philippine Islands Visited by the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 287-290 Ebullient spirit Ashworth encountered among Catholic priests he met in the backwoods of the Philippines in the mid-1950s, 288-289

Photography Photo training as an adjunct to flight training at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 72-73 Reconnaissance and spotting aerial photography by Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) in the late 1930s, 73-75, 89-91 Film of the Hiroshima atomic bomb mission in August 1945, 209 Used to assess the results of the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, 223-225 As Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) in the early 1960s, involvement in the TFX/F-111 issue, 366

Planning For the amphibious assault in the Gilbert Islands in November 1943, 126 For the amphibious assault in the Marshall Islands in January 1944, 131-132

Point Mugu, California Competition in the mid-1950s against the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 297-298

Polaris Missile Program Interaction with the Navy’s research and development organization in the late 1950s- early 1960s, 337-338

Price, Vice Admiral Frank H., USN (USNA, 1941) In the early 1960s served as chief of staff to Commander Carrier Division 18, 345-346 In the early 1970s was OP-03, DCNO (Surface Warfare)

Promotion of Naval Officers Much slower in the inter-war years than it became in World War II, 53 In 1946 Ashworth was temporarily spot-promoted to captain because of his work on atomic issues, 220, 228 Ashworth, Charles Duncan, George Miller, and Thomas Moorer—all of the Naval Academy class of 1933—received early selections for rear admiral in the late 1950s, 329, 333

Propulsion Plants Fuel conservation in the engineering plant of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 56 Electric drive for the West Virginia, 57 Diesel plant in the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 281

Public Relations After the atomic bomb mission against Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, Ashworth made a number of public speeches describing the event, 200-201

Purdon, Lieutenant Commander David Jr., USN (USNA, 1940) Killed in October 1950 in the crash of an AJ Savage, 241-242

Quackenbush, Lieutenant Robert S. Jr., USN (USNA, 1927) Operations officer of Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) in the late 1930s, 71-72, 90

R4D Skytrain Transport plane that crashed in New Caledonia in the early 1940s and killed all on board, 108-109

Radar In 1942 Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) became the first carrier squadron equipped with radar, 106 Use of in the atomic bomb mission against Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 183-185, 191, 210, 213, 216 Radar-controlled bombsights used in the AJ Savage and A3D for nuclear weapons delivery in the late 1940-early 1950s, 247 Use of radar for navigation by the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 279-280 Low-visibility radar navigation by the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in the late 1950s, 49, 324-325

Radford, Vice Admiral Arthur W., USN (USNA, 1916) Role in the late 1940s in establishing an atomic weapons capability for the Navy, 230, 242

Radio During their boyhood, Ashworth and his brothers built a crude radio in their town in Massachusetts, 8-9 During his first carrier landing in 1937, Ashworth’s SBU had a radio with a transmitter but no receiver, 79 Monitoring of Soviet communications in 1963-64 by the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34), 320-321, 374-375

Ramage, Rear Admiral James D., USN (USNA, 1939) In 1954-55 commanded Composite Squadron Three (VC-3), 243-244, 250 Ramsey, Dr. Norman F. Jr. During World War II was part of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb, 141-142, 144, 152, 164, 173-174

Ramsey, Vice Admiral Paul H., USN While serving as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) from March 1965 to October 1966, observed carrier operations in the Mediterranean in the mid-1960s, 409-411

Ranger, USS (CVA-61) Went into commission in 1957 with Captain Tommy Booth as first skipper, 59

Raytheon Corporation Suggestion from a company official in the early 1960s on developments in microelectronics, 306

Regan, Captain Herbert E., USN (USNA, 1922) In the mid-1930s served in Scouting Squadron Two/Three (VS-2/VS-3), later commanded the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42), 82

Reich, Rear Admiral Eli T., USN (USNA, 1935) In the early 1960s worked in the budget office of the Deputy CNO for research and development, 339

Religion Ashworth’s experience with Navy chapels and civilian churches over the years, 19-21 Ebullient spirit Ashworth encountered among Catholic priests he met in the backwoods of the Philippines in the mid-1950s, 288-289

Replenishment at Sea By the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37, 1954-55, 260-261 On board the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in the late 1950s, 260-261, 314-315 By the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34) and her escorts in the Pacific in 1963, 376 In the Sixth Fleet in the mid-1960s, 411

Rhodes, Greece Visited by the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in the late 1950s, 315-316 The destroyer Bache, USS (DD-470) ran aground on rocks off the island of Rhodes in 1968 and was lost, 415

Rickover, Vice Admiral Hyman G., USN (USNA, 1922) Comparison with the Army’s Major General Leslie Groves of the Manhattan Project, 159-160 Studied atomic power while attending a nuclear weapons test at Eniwetok Atoll in 1948, 266 Interaction, 1958-60, between Admiral Hyman Rickover’s office and the research and development office of OpNav, 335-339

Riera, Rear Admiral Robert Emmett, USN (USNA, 1935) In the mid-1960s was Commander Fleet Air Mediterranean, 401

Rieve, Commander Roland, Supply Corps, USN (USNA, 1941) In the late 1950s served as supply officer of the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42), 285

Rivero, Rear Admiral Horacio Jr., USN (USNA, 1931) As a midshipman at the Naval Academy, 226 Postgraduate study in the late 1930s-early 1940s, 97 Right after World War II became part of the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Special Weapons), 217 In July 1946 took part in Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll, 162, 220, 225-226 After the Bikini tests in 1946, served in the OpNav Office of Atomic Defense, 228 In 1958 served on a Naval Academy curriculum review board, 32-33

Robinson, Commander Thomas, USN In the late 1940s flew the P2V Neptune in Composite Squadron Five (VC-5), 249 In the early 1950s flew the AJ Savage in Composite Squadron Six (VC-6), 243-244

Rocky Mount, USS (AGC-3) Served as flagship for Commander Fifth Amphibious Force in 1943, 126, 130, 134-135

Roi-Namur, Marshall Islands U.S. amphibious assault and capture of in early 1944, 132-133

Royal Navy Participated in CENTO antisubmarine exercise MidLink in the early 1960s, 60, 348-349 Joined with the U.S. Navy in tracking Soviet submarines in the Mediterranean, 1966- 67, 414-415

Russell, Admiral James S., USN (Ret.) (USNA, 1926) Served in the early 1950s as part of the Military Applications Division of the Atomic Energy Commission, 270 As Vice Chief of Naval Operations and senior active naval aviator in the early 1960s, advice on the TFX/F-111, 358-359, 364, 431 Activities after retirement from the Navy, 270-271

S2F Tracker Antisubmarine plane that operated from the aircraft carrier Essex (CVS-9) in the early 1960s, 345

S-3 Viking Antisubmarine plane that began operating from aircraft carriers in the early 1970s, 345, 356

SBD Dauntless Douglas-built scout bomber that improved the Navy’s dive-bombing capability when it entered the fleet in 1941, 78, 253-254 Role in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, 104 When the TBF Avenger entered the fleet in 1942, it was able to operate with the SBD, 106-107

SBU Vought-built scout bomber flown by Ashworth and his brother in the late 1930s, 74-75, 77-78, 85

SU Vought-built biplane used for flight training at Pensacola in the mid-1930s, 68-69

Sallada, Captain Harold B., USN (USNA, 1917) Joined Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner’s amphibious force staff in late 1943 to coordinate close air support, 130, 133, 135

Salonika, Greece The aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) visited the port in the late 1950s, 49, 324-325

San Francisco, California The battleship West Virginia (BB-48) was in port in late 1933 when Prohibition was repealed and crew members returned to the ship drunk, 54 The small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) conducted an operational readiness inspection nearby in the mid-1950s, 279-280

Santa Fe, New Mexico Retirement locale for the Ashworths, 440, 444-454, 457

Saratoga, USS (CV-3) Planes of Scouting Squadron Two/Three (VS-2/VS-3) landed aboard the carrier in the mid-1930s, 9-10, 78-82

Saratoga, USS (CVA-60) In the mid-1960s experienced engineering problems while operating in the Sixth Fleet, 410

Savacool, Lieutenant Commander James M., USN In the mid-1950s served as operations officer of the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37), 283

Schilt, Colonel Christian F., USMC Served as strike commander for air operations from Guadalcanal in 1943, 112, 116

Schoech, Vice Admiral William E., USN (USNA, 1928) Served as Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Naval Weapons, 1959-61, 354, 357, 366, 368 As Chief of Naval Material, 1963-65, 354, 357-358

Schoeffel, Rear Admiral Malcolm F., USN (USNA, 1919) In 1944 selected Ashworth for the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb, 145 Commanded the Naval Air Test Center at Patuxent River in the late 1940s-early 1950s, 241, 253

Schwager, Commander Joseph E., USN (USNA, 1945) Pilot in Composite Squadron Six (VC-6) in the early 1950s, later invented a bombsight used in nuclear weapons delivery, 246-247

Scorpion, USS (SSN-589) Nuclear submarine lost in the Atlantic in May 1968 while en route Norfolk, 432

Scouting Squadron Two/Three (VS-2/VS-3) Redesignated in the mid-1930s so its number would match that of the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-3), 77 Operations from the Saratoga in the mid-1930s, 9-10, 78-82 Home based at the North Island Naval Air Station, 86

Searcy, Captain Seth S. Jr., USN (USNA, 1933) Commanded the aircraft carrier Essex (CVS-9) in 1960-61, 346

Security The Norden bombsight and magnetic torpedo exploder were closely guarded secrets in the early 1940s, 101-102

Shafroth, Commander John F. Jr., USN (USNA, 1908) Executive officer of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 52, 61

Sharp, Admiral Ulysses S. Grant, USN (USNA, 1927) Was skeptical about the value of the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) when briefed about it in the early 1960s, 383

Shepherd, Captain John T., USN (USNA, 1943) Served as operations officer on the staff of Commander Carrier Division One in the early 1960s, 373-374

Sherman, Rear Admiral Forrest P., USN (USNA, 1918) In mid-1943, while serving with Admiral Chester Nimitz in Hawaii, informed Ashworth that he would be going to the staff of Rear Admiral Kelly Turner, 122-123, 126 Commanded the Sixth Fleet in the late 1940s, 428

Shinn, Captain Allen M., USN (USNA, 1932) Served 1956-58 as the Naval Academy commandant of midshipmen, 328

Ship Handling On board the aircraft carrier Midway (CVB-41) in 1951, 256, 260-261 On board the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 280-281, 290 On board the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in the late 1950s, 261-264, 310 By destroyers of the Royal Navy during a CENTO MidLink exercise in 1960, 60, 349

Shore Bombardment Battleship bombardment of Kwajalein in early 1944, 132

Shortland Island Attacks on by TBF Avengers of Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), 116-117

Shryock, Captain William A., USN In the early 1950s was a member of Composite Squadron Six (VC-6), 251 In the early 1960s was project officer for the F-111B fighter, 251

Sidewinder Missile Developed and tested at the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, in the 1950s, 294-297, 303-305, 307

Sims, Commander William S., USN (USNA, 1880) Early in the 20th century pushed for improvements in U.S. Navy gunnery, 43

Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) Impact on Sixth Fleet aircraft carriers in the 1950s and 1960s, 414-415 Sixth Fleet, U.S. The A3D Skywarrior experienced problems with carrier operations in the mid-1950s, later overcame them, 243, 250 The aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) deployed to the fleet in the late 1950s, 48-49, 257, 263-264, 309-326 Ashworth’s objectives when he took command in 1966 included improving relations with other countries and getting an antisubmarine carrier into the fleet, 46-48, 393, 400 In 1966-67 the guided missile cruiser Springfield (CLG-7), fleet flagship, was home- ported in Villefranche, 393, 397-405 In 1966 President Charles de Gaulle forced the military part of NATO to leave France, so the Sixth Fleet flagship’s homeport was relocated to Gaeta, Italy, in early 1967, 397, 401-404, 420 Limited encounters with Soviet ships in the Mediterranean in 1966-67, 320, 414 Task force arrangements in the fleet when Ashworth had command in 1966-67, 409 Role of members of the fleet staff in the mid-1960s, 416-419 Impact of the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) on Sixth Fleet aircraft carriers in the 1950s and 1960s, 414-415 Reaction to the Israeli attack on the intelligence ship Liberty (AGTR-5) in June 1967, 317, 414-415, 420

Skorcz, Commander James C., USN Served in the mid-1950s as executive officer of the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37), 285, 288

Sloatman, Lieutenant Commander John K. Jr., USN Served in Composite Squadron Five (VC-5) when it was formed in the late 1940s, 244

Smart, General Jacob E., USAF (USMA, 1931) Served 1964-66 as Deputy Commander of the U.S. European Command, 385-386, 390

Smedberg, Captain William R. III, USN (USNA, 1926) In the mid-1940s, after World War II, served as aide to the Secretary of the Navy, 229

Smith, Bernard “Barney” Civilian fire control expert who worked at Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, in the mid-1950s and later had a variety of jobs that involved the Navy, 299-300

Smith, Lieutenant General Holland M. “Howling Mad,” USMC Commanded the Fifth Amphibious Corps for the assault on the Gilbert Islands in November 1943, 128, 131, 135-136 Smith, Major General Ralph C., USA Commanded the 27th Infantry Division during the capture of Makin in 1943, 128

Solomon Islands In 1943 TBF Avengers of Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), based at Guadalcanal, bombed the northern Solomons, 106-115, 369

Small Arms In the mid-1930s, on board the battleship West Virginia (BB-48), Ashworth obtained a Colt .45 pistol that he subsequently carried on a 1945 atomic bomb mission, 53, 193

Smith, Captain Daniel F. Jr., USN (USNA, 1932) Commanded the aircraft carrier Randolph (CVA-15) in 1956-57, 314

Smith, Midshipman Kerfoot B., USN (USNA, 1933) Roommate who finished one number behind Ashworth in the final standings of the Naval Academy class of 1933, 13, 24 Performed heroically when the light cruiser Marblehead (CL-12) had a gun casualty in 1936, 13

Soviet Navy Limited encounters with U.S. Navy ships in the Mediterranean in 1966-67, 320, 414 Operation of submarines in the Mediterranean, 1966-67, 413

Spangenberg, George A. The Navy's aeronautical engineer on the TFX/F-111 project in the early 1960s, 252, 360, 367-368

Sparrow Missile Developed in the 1950s by the Bureau of Aeronautics as an air-to-air weapon, 298

Springfield, USS (CLG-7) In 1966-67 served as flagship for Commander Sixth Fleet, 393, 397-404, 416-418

Stapp, Major John Paul, USAF In 1954 did high-speed tests at Holloman Air Force Base, 303

Stark, Captain Harold R., USN (USNA, 1903) Commanded the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in 1933-34, 53, 61, 65, 86

Stimson, Henry L. In the summer of 1945, as Secretary of War, was involved in target selection for the atomic bomb missions against Japan, 169 Strauss, Rear Admiral Lewis L., USNR Served as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, 1953-58, 267-268 In 1958-59, as temporary Secretary of Commerce, dealt with the Navy on nuclear- powered ships, 335-336

Stroop, Vice Admiral Paul D., USN (USNA, 1926) On behalf of the Bureau of Ordnance, arranged for Ashworth to become commanding officer of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, in 1955, 292, 294 Served 1959-62 as the first Chief of the Bureau of Naval Weapons, 354, 357, 366 From 1962 to 1962 was Commander Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet, 379

Stump, Vice Admiral Felix B., USN (USNA, 1917) In the early 1950s was Commander Air Force Atlantic Fleet, 253

Swanson, Captain Leroy V., USN 1930s-era aviation cadet who later served as chief of staff to Commander Carrier Division One in the early 1960s, 83, 373-374, 377

Sweeney, Major Charles W., USAAF Pilot of the B-29 that bombed Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945, 157, 167, 177-178, 182, 191-192, 202, 209-213, 215-216

Swimming Ashworth swam as a youngster, at Dartmouth, and at the Naval Academy, 11-12, 27- 28, 34-35, 37-38 Swim team of enlisted crew members of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) in the mid-1930s, 55-56

Systems Analysis Reliance on when Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense in the 1960s, 361- 362

TBD Devastator Performance of U.S. torpedo planes at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, 103-104

TBF Avenger Characteristics as a glide bomber in World War II, 85, 104 Used in 1942-43 by Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11), 106-117 Ruggedness of the airplane in action, 117

TF-1 Trader Grumman on-board delivery plane used by the aircraft carrier Essex (CVS-9) in 1960, 79-80 Tu-95 Bear (Soviet Bomber) Overflew the aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34) in the early 1960s, 320-321, 374-375

Tactics Plans for the use of P2V Neptunes as heavy attack atomic bombers in the late 1940s, 245

Taiwan Kaohsiung visited by the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37) in the mid-1950s, 287-288

Tarawa, Gilbert Islands Amphibious assault by U.S. Marines in November 1943, 126, 128-129

Tegge, Lieutenant (junior grade) Melvin L., USNR Had to ditch his TBF Avenger in 1943 after an engine failure, 122

Teller, Dr. Edward In the early 1950s was involved in the development of the hydrogen bomb, 268

Thach, Admiral John S., USN (USNA, 1927) Commanded the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) in 1953-54, 314 In the late 1950s commanded Task Force Alfa for antisubmarine work, 351 Served as Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Europe from 1965 to 1967, 334, 405-407, 413, 417, 419

Theiss, Captain Paul S., USN (USNA, 1912) Served as chief of staff to Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner in 1943-44, 131, 133

Thessaloniki, Greece See: Salonika, Greece

Thomas, Captain Vincent C. Jr., USN Served in the mid-1960s as public affairs officer for the U.S. European Command, 364-365

Thompson, Dr. Louis Ten Eyck Physicist who was involved in the China Lake phase of the Manhattan Project in World War II, 161 Later was the first technical director of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, 295, 297-298 Involved in development of the warhead for the Polaris missile system in the late 1950s, 337-338

Thompson, Lieutenant Raymond W. Jr., USN (USNA, 1933) Record-breaking performance as a Naval Academy swimmer, 35, 37-38 President of his Naval Academy class, 35-36 Postgraduate study in the late 1930s-early 1940s, 96-97

Tibbets, Colonel Paul W. Jr., USAAF Pilot of the atomic bomb mission that hit Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945, 147, 157, 163, 169, 176-179, 183, 202, 211, 215, 222

Tinian, Marianas Islands In 1945 was used as the base for atomic bombing missions against Japan, 155-156, 161, 163-169, 192-193, 199, 202, 210, 213

Torpedoes In the early 1940s the Bureau of Ordnance worked on a director for aerial torpedoes, 100 The magnetic torpedo exploder were closely guarded secrets in the early 1940s, 101-102 Performance of torpedo planes in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, 103-104 In 1942 the Advanced Carrier Training Group at North Island Naval Air Station provided training for torpedo plane pilots, 102-105 Torpedo school in San Diego in 1942, 105 Japanese “Betty” bombers were unsuccessful in trying to make a torpedo attack on U.S. amphibious forces in the Gilberts in 1943, 129 In the mid-1950s the Pasadena Annex of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, tested aerial torpedoes, 306-307 Concept development in the early 1960s for Captor, a mine that would contain an encapsulated torpedo, 368

Torpedo Squadron Eight (VT-8) Role in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, 103-105

Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11) Established in the summer of 1942 as an outgrowth of the Advanced Carrier Training Group at North Island Naval Air Station, 106-107 Relocated in 1942 to Barbers Point Naval Air Station in Hawaii, 107, 118 Assigned to duty ashore at Guadalcanal in 1943 because no carriers were available, 120-121 Operations in the South Pacific in 1943. 108-117 The Disney Studio created a cartoon logo for the squadron, 109 Members of the squadron were lost in the crash of an R4D Skytrain, 108-109, 121 Minelaying near Bougainville Island, 109 Rest and recreation trip to Australia, 109-110, 121

Toth, Commander Joseph C., USN (USNA, 1931) Commanded the small seaplane tender Corson (AVP-37), 1953-54, 280, 285, 290 Townsend, Captain Robert L., USN (USNA, 1934) In the early 1950s served as executive officer of Composite Squadron Six (VC-6), later commanding officer, 241-242. 250-251 In the early 1960s served in the budget office of the Bureau of Naval Weapons, 339

Truman, President Harry S. Learned of the successful test of the atomic bomb in the summer of 1945, 156 Connection with the atomic bomb missions of August 1945, 169, 177, 200

TFX Squabble in the early 1960s over the plane’s characteristics and manufacturer, 251-252, 358-360, 363-367

Tunisia As Commander Sixth Fleet, Ashworth conferred with Tunisians in the mid-1960s, 399

Turner, Vice Admiral Richmond K., USN (USNA, 1908) In 1942 commanded the amphibious invasion of Guadalcanal, 129 Operations in 1943-44 while in command of the Central Pacific Amphibious Force, 126-140 Turned to alcohol during the Okinawa campaign in 1945 because he was under so much strain, 132-134 Leadership style, 225 Lived in Monterey, California, in the late 1940s, 134

United States, SS (Passenger Liner) In early 1964 the Ashworth family rode the liner from the United States to France, 384

Utah, USS (BB-31) Summer training cruise to Europe in 1930, 40-42

Utility Squadron One (VJ-1) Aerial photography by the squadron in the late 1930s, 73, 89-91 Target towing for gunnery exercises, 91 Internal organization of the squadron’s officers and operational scheduling, 90 Comparison to other types of squadrons in the hierarchy of naval aviation, 92 Ashworth was part of the squadron in 1938 when he learned of his brother’s death in a plane crash, 17 Ferry flights of O2Us for overhaul work, 92 Operated out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in early 1939, 93-94

Van Pelt, Captain James C., Supply Corps, USN (USNA, 1944) In the mid-1960s served as supply officer on the staff of Commander Sixth Fleet, 417 Vietnam The aircraft carrier Oriskany (CVA-34) operated off the coast in late 1963 after the death of President Ngo Dinh Diem, 375

Vietnam War David Ashworth flew the A-7 Corsair II during Vietnam operations, 80

Villefranche, France Homeport for the U.S. Mediterranean Squadron in the 1880s, 397 In 1966-67 the guided missile cruiser Springfield (CLG-7), Sixth Fleet flagship, was home-ported in Villefranche, 393, 397-404

Von Neumann, Dr. John Took part in the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb in 1944-45, 149, 152

Wakelin, Dr. James H. Jr. As Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research and Development in the 1960s, was involved in the TFX/F-111 investigation, 364-365

Waldron, Lieutenant Commander John Charles, USN (USNA, 1924) Killed in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, 104

Weather During the summer of 1932, the Naval Academy training ships went through a hurricane, 29, 41 Effect on atomic bomb missions against Japan in August 1945, 177, 183-185 In 1957 the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) lost an A3D Skywarrior over the side in heavy seas in the Mediterranean, 313-314 Effect of mistral winds off the Mediterranean coast of France in the early 1960s, 350-351

Wendover, Utah, Army Air Field Army Air Forces base used in World War II as part of the Manhattan project to develop and test the atomic bomb, 142-146, 152, 154, 157

Wendt, Admiral Waldemar F. A., USN (USNA, 1933) Served 1968-71 as Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Europe, 430

West Virginia, USS (BB-48) Officers in the crew in the mid-1930s, 40, 42, 51-53 Operations in the Pacific, 1933-35, 51-65 Navigation of, 51-53 Cruise to the East Coast in 1934, 42, 52, 58 Habitability for the crew on board, 53 Gunnery practice, 58 Ashworth purchased a Colt .45 pistol on board the West Virginia and later wore it on the atomic bomb mission against Nagasaki in 1945, 53 The ship was in port at San Francisco in late 1933 when Prohibition was repealed and crew members returned aboard drunk, 54 Competition in the 1930s with other battleships for the Iron Man trophy awarded for athletic excellence, 55-56 Engineering plant had electric drive, 56-57 Won the Battle Efficiency E for battleships in the mid-1930s, 56 Marine detachment in the mid-1930s, 61-62 Personnel inspections in the mid-1930s, 321

Wiser, Lieutenant Forwood Jr. “Bud,” USN (USNA, 1945) In the late 1940s served in Composite Squadron Five (VC-5), later became president of Trans World Airlines, 245, 249

Withington, Rear Admiral Frederic S., USN (USNA, 1923) In the mid-1950s served as Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, 294

Wright, Rear Admiral Jerauld, USN (USNA, 1918) In the mid-1940s served in the OP-03 section of OpNav, 227-228

Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio Army Air Corps base that did experimental night photography work in the late 1930s, 73

Zuckert, Eugene M. In the early 1950s served on the Atomic Energy Commission, 268-269 In the early 1960s was Secretary of the Air Force, 360